Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Dave's Deep Thoughts - The Non-V Streak

 
Here's Pastor Dave McDowell's weekly devotional that he sends out to members of his church. Dave is my brother and serves as the Music Minister at Stewartstown UMC in PA.
 
My life has been filled with streaks,
but only one really matters.
Here's to the others that don't......
 
I have always been fascinated with streaks.
Many of them involve sports teams.
 
Cal Ripken's consecutive 2,632 games played.
Joe Dimaggio's 56 game hitting streak.
Cal-Tech ending a 26 year losing streak in basketball.
The Orioles opening the 1988 baseball season with 21 consecutive losses.
The Pittsburgh Pirates 20 consecutive losing seasons,
the longest among ALL sports franchises.
 
Some streaks are testaments to greatness,
others to ineptness.
But there are other streaks that testify
to fortitude, resilience, and sometimes......good luck.
 
27 years, 2 months, and 5 days.
That's my streak.
 
Of what, you may ask?
I will somehow try to explain this without using the dreaded V-word....
 
27 years , 2 months, and 5 days
that I went without ever losing my cookies.
It is known around these parts, as the non-V streak
 
That's right.
27 years, 2 months, and 5 days of care free oral-fresh living.
 
27 years, 2 months, and 5 days of living without that awful moment
when you know something is going to happen momentarily
that will cause even those who love you the most.,
to run for cover.
 
Many have asked how I even know the length of this streak.
Very good question.
 
The last time I had a less-than-stellar oral hygiene day
was Valentines Day of my senior year in college.
Save the chocolates and kisses for another day......
this college senior was not in the mood that dark and ominous Valentines Day.
 
Since that fateful day
roller coaster rides have had no effect over my digestive system.
 
Mexican restaurants and their chimichangas
have all fallen helpless victim to my voracious appetite.
 
Flus have come and gone with their fevers and aches,
but they held no power over my tummy.
 
I have taken medications that were sworn to have strong side effects of nausea,
but my belly refuted them.
 
There was the appendicitis episode in year 24
and then the mother of all storms.....
the trip to a Chinese restaurant that eventually resulted
in a 2 month go-round with a parasite.
 
But the streak endured.
 
If there were ticker tape parades in honor of tough tummies,
I would have been the grand marshall.
 
If the population-at-large had had my stomach,
Pepto Bismol would have been out of business years ago.
 
Cal Ripken might have become known as the iron man for his streak,
but I was the Iron Stomach.
 
That was,
until the 27th year, 2nd month, and 6th day.
 
It was beautiful spring day.......
the sun was shining brightly,
birds were singing,
butterflies were dancing,
and bees were dancing from flower to flower.
 
I awoke.
My tummy hurt.
My tummy felt funny.
 
This was a feeling I had not felt in a long time.
I said to myself,
"This cannot be.
That baked potato with melted butter from last night
will not be the end of this."
 
I was to drive an hour north to meet a friend for breakfast.
I must admit, as I was trying to will myself back to abdominal fortitude,
I had my doubts.
The yucky feeling would not go away.
 
And so I took a measure of insurance.
As I left my house, I grabbed an empty plastic bag.
As I drove up the highway,
I tried to will myself back to metabolic mastery.
Then the moment of reckoning came.
As I came over a hill, I saw the ultimate challenge
to 27 years, 2 months, and 5 days of digestive mastery.....
 
It was the cattle shutes.
One-half mile of road construction
with north and south bound traffic narrowed down to one lane each way
through very narrow arteries.
 
I panicked.
"What if I lose it in the cattle shutes?
There is no place to pull over."
 
The adrenaline rush was my achilles heel.
I pulled over a quarter mile before the shutes,
and there at mile marker 37,
the streak ended.
 
As I stood along the highway
holding my plastic bag of shame,
I came to realize that all streaks must come to an end,
otherwise, they are not streaks.
 
But there is one streak in my life
that I know will go on to eternity.
 
That streak as of today measures
38 years, 2 months and 3 days.
That is when I surrendered my life to Christ,
and gained access to a life with Him forever.
 
I will admit that those 38 years, 2 months, and 3 days
have had their testings,
just as much or even more than the other streak.
But the streak lives on,
because God is faithful,
and no temptation, no disease,,
no circumstance, no cattle shute can change the road on which I now travel.
 
I wish that you can claim such a streak in your life.
If it hasn't begun,
may it begin soon and may it lead you to similar
amazing life with the God who created you and loves you beyond measure.
 
If you already claim such a streak,
continue to give all the credit for it to God,
for He is the one who is forever faithful.
And it is He who will lead you to the throne room.
 
Life is filled with streaks,
but in the end, there is only one streak that really matters,
and it doesn't matter if the streak is one day or 70 years.
What matters is that the Lord stirs within you to begin the streak,
and He carries you on that streak through the rest of your life and beyond.
May it be so with you.
 
As for me,
my new non-V streak lives on,
just keep me away from baked potatoes please.
I'll let God take care of the rest.
 
"I have fought the good fight,
I have finished the course,
I have kept the faith."
2 Timothy 4:7

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