Bowling Pins, Gutter Balls, and Deep Roots...

Last night Harv and I went bowling with our Young Adults group. And though I gave it my best shot, I was forced to face the grave reality that this is one activity that I cannot do every 3 years and still expect to retain any semblance of skill. I know that the last time I went, my co-bowlers gave me some pointers that markedly improved my game, but I couldn’t for the life of me remember what those pointers were. Harv is of the opinion that the less you try, the better you score, and he proved this little theory by bowling an impressive game of 218. I don’t think that I could get that score even if I joined the Yorkton Bowling League, and bowled on a daily basis. I am convinced that the owners have a switch in the back that turns on some sort of magnetic field that sucks all balls to the gutter whenever I am up. I think that they sit in the back and have a hoot watching this. Y’know, if I didn’t love those ding-dang shoes so much I would give up the game all together.

I remember a lady telling me once that with any skill, “you use it, or you lose it”. She was referring to skills, talents, muscle, the mind, and so on and so forth. This of course has struck fear in my heart as I have already tested this particular theory with my housekeeping skills and found it to be true. Now I lie awake at night fretting over which skills I am losing on a daily basis.

I have been wondering – is this also true with our relationship with God? I have been going through such a dry spell lately. It is a time where everything feels so hard, and God feels so far away. Sometimes I feel like my prayers are bouncing right off the ceiling. Or maybe more honestly, my prayers are pathetically being thrown at the ceiling, much like the pathetic loping of my bowling ball last night. Regular Bible reading and prayer seem tiresome, and I am thinking that if I don’t pull it all together soon, I am going to lose all skill as a useful Christian. As I was thinking about this last night I was reminded of a verse that set my fears to rest…

Blessed are those who trust the Lord…
They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with
roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees
are not bothered by the heat or worried by long
months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and
they go right on producing delicious fruit.
Jeremiah 17:7-8 (NLT)

I am so thankful for “deep roots”. And I am so thankful that we cannot lose our salvation, even when times are dry and our soul is weary. I am so thankful that God can still use me, even when I feel like I am “throwing gutter balls” at every turn. I am also thankful that I still love to bowl even after that embarrassing display of ineptitude last night. It's just too bad that I couldn't keep the shoes.