Ultimate Frisbee & Ultimate Faith - Dave's Deep Thoughts

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.

 

The apostle Paul said,

"Run the race as so to win it"

 

but for me on Sunday, it was

"Run the race just to survive."

 

33 years ago when I was getting started in ministry,

I was working with youth.

To attract more youth during the summertime,

I formed an ultimate frisbee league.

 

Ultimate is a game where

you work as a team to progress the disc up the field.

The goal is to complete a pass to a teammate in the end zone

and thus score a point.

 

It is called ultimate because it demands ultimate effort from its players.

Players run up and down a seventy yard field virtally non-stop,

switching directions as teams switch from offense to defense.

 

It is not a game for the weak hearted.

It is rare to find anyone playing who is older than their mid-thirties.

 

Through the years the league continued to grow,

eventually including adults.

As the years went by I continued to play,

through my twenties, thirties, and yes,

into my forties.

 

Seven years ago,

I withdrew from the league,

because of some life circumstances.

 

Then Sunday came.

 

I was invited to come and play.

It was an unusual Sunday for me

as I had no responsibilities following morning services.

Plus the weather was gorgeous making it

desirable to spend the day outside.

 

I said yes.

I must admit that I had some measure of concern.

I would be playing against people twenty to thirty years younger than myself.

Now I have kept up a regular exercise schedule the last 7 years,

jogging 3 miles a day.

 

Jogging helps,

but it does not make you ready for ultimate.

It's like sending an eight year old who is just learning how to divide

into calculus class.

 

I came to the fields trying to be as invisible as possible,

thinking I would sub in for players now and then,

just to get a feel for the game again.

 

No such luck.

 

Rumors began to spread.

I was assumed to be somebody's father by some.

Other's thought I was just taking my dog for a walk.

Then the word got out......

"Hey, there's the guy that founded the league back in the day."

 

Back in the day.......

 

The day they were referring to was ten to fifteen years before most of them had been born.

I had been there less than five minutes

and I was already Methuselah.

Pencil me in as a forefather.

Give me my AARP card and go straight to the "over the hill' jail.

 

I looked for anyone who needed to use Just For Men

No one.

 

And lucky me,

a team was down a player so I would be able to play the entire game.

Within minutes I was out on the field,

running, no sprinting towards the other end.

 

There are several stages of life expectancy during an ultimate game.

The first stage is called "the burn" stage.

It is that moment 4-5 minutes into the game

when your heart feels like it is going to explode out of your chest.

You gasp for oxygen like it is sweet nectar off the vine,

but you can't get enough.

You would sell your soul for a thimble size cup of water.

 

Instead you have to turn around and sprint the other direction

because you have just changed from offense to defense,

and the player you are guarding

is now jetting towards the end zone in an attempt to score and thus shame you.

 

If the ambulance hasn't come to take you away,

you are ready for the next stage.

It is called the "Why am I here?" stage.

It is that moment of reality where you realize

that you still have twenty minutes of sprinting remaining in the FIRST HALF

and all you can think about is ice cream,

and why you are not sitting under a shade tree eating it

on a beautiful Sunday afternoon.

 

By halftime, we were down 8-3.

 

There was no doubt that I am a step slower than 7 years ago.

But in my favor, I still had my throws.

I actually scored a goal and assisted on another.

 

As I was sucking down water on the sideline,

this kid who could not have told you the year JFK was shot,

tapped me on the head and said,

"Nice job gramps."

 

This set me up for stage three,

the "I may be dying, but I am going to make you die first" stage.

It is the stage of illusion where you believe that after ten minutes of rest

you can go out onto the war field once again and compete with children.

 

This is the shortest of all the stages

lasting for the first minute of the second half.

After that one minute of revival,

reality sets in and you are once again gasping for oxygen that does not exist.

 

Somehow, our team began to mount a comeback,

closing to within 2 goals.

 

As team excitement built,

I was no entering the

"This hurts so bad, but I refuse to cry" stage.

It is the moment in an ultimate game

when there is nothing left in the tank,

but you choose either to find more energy somewhere,

or crawl off the field into your hole of shame.

 

I don't know where that energy comes from,

but it is the moment every player learns how to pray.

 

My third assist of the day

brought us to within one towards the end of the game.

It was then that the most horrific thought crossed my mind,

"what if we score again and force overtime?"

 

Overtime.

Extra minutes.

Father Time laughing uncontrollably in your face,

as he heaps an extra dose of pain onto your exhausted carcass.

 

This thought propelled me into the final stage of the game.

That would be the "I want my mommy" stage.

In that moment, that you actually think about throwing the game

just so you can get to the ER or to your blankie in time..

 

Fortunately for me,

I didn't have to grapple with that moral dilemma

as the other team scored, sealing the outcome.

 

As the two teams shook hands,

all I could think was

"okay, you survived, now get as far away from here as possible."

 

Then the player offering the last handshake said those four words,

four words that are like a direct injection of testosterone to any man......

"you still got it."

 

What allows people to endure the unendurable?

the death of a loved one,

the announcement of a fatal disease,

the fire that takes away a home?

 

Some people don't endure.

Some choose to live the rest of their lives as if they were dead.

But others choose life.

 

What's the difference?

Is is just a matter of personality?

of personal stamina?

the encouragement of family & friends?

 

To some measure,

that's part of it,

but the bottom line is faith.

 

Faith that no matter what I face,

it is not greater than what God can provide me.

 

Faith that no matter how dark the valley I travel,

I know God covers me.

 

Faith that fills the gap that I can not fill.

 

So as you face an ultimate challenge in your life,

believe in yourself, yes,

but believe in God even more.

 

As for me,

I think I'll be back next week.

 

I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.

Phillipians 4:13