Parents, Don't Wait for the Painful Wakeup Call:* Words From COVID 19 quarantine

 Parents, what busts your gluteus maximus? In college, my cheer squad used to come back to campus a few weeks early to practice for cheer camp. Those Summers, we practiced mornings and afternoons for “two-a-days.” It was really hot in Greenville, SC, so between practices we tried to find different ways to cool down near water: a pool, lake, river or stream. I have many fond memories of those refreshing adventures with my friends. One of the aquatic destinations was to drive about 2 hours into the mountains to a sliding rock called “bust your butt falls.” We calculated that we could leave right after morning practice, grab something to eat and make it to the falls, stay for about an hour, drive 2 hours back and make it back for the afternoon practice. Sometimes we would even stop along the way to take a quick jump from the bridge at lake Keowee Toxaway (I know, not the smartest thing to do, but at that age we think we are 10 feet tall and made of steel). One year, we headed up to the falls, it was the perfect day. Coach had reminded us why we were there, warned us not to be late for practice and not to get injured. We assured him of both. We had a great time on the way up, windows down, lots of laughter and singing loudly with Boston, Phil Collins, Journey, and whatever other bands were on the cassettes tapes in the car. At the falls, you sit down in the ice cold water and enjoy a long smooth sliding rock for several feet and you are looking down at the refreshing pool of water, into which you are about to splash. After you have gained some momentum from the steepness of the rocks and the push of the water, right in the middle of the sliding rock at the bottom is a large rock that juts straight up. It unexpectedly launches you into the air and into the pool. It's a pretty big jolt when you hit this rock, hence the name “bust your butt falls.” You definitely want to hit it with your rump. One time down the falls, I got off balance a little and was leaning back more than usual, on impact, I was in great pain. I had hit the rock and broken my tailbone! If you have ever done this you know that it hurts when you do it, but it also hurts for several weeks as it heals. There is obviously no cast that will work, you can sometimes sit on a doughnut shaped pillow to help relieve the pain of sitting in a chair. So, after our 5 hour adventure, and an uncomfortable drive back, we all piled out of the car, just in time for cheer practice. Practice was a painful prospect for me, but also provided much amusement for the rest of the cheer squad as I grimaced with every stunt and backhandspring. It seems I had to have my butt busted to remind me that we had all returned to campus early that summer to practice to become better cheerleaders to represent the University well. I had gotten distracted by the “extracurricular” adventures that were great fun but weren’t as important as our purpose of representing our university, our squad, and our coach well.

Sometimes we are sliding along just fine, enjoying life, looking forward to a much anticipated splash into the next big adventure. When “boom” something busts our gluteus maximus, or as my nephew used to say our “glorious maximus.” It gets our attention and reminds us of what is most important. When the apostle John was all alone on the Island of Patmos, he encountered Jesus in a vision. The Messiah had a warning for the church at Sardis. It was apparently known as a vibrant church and full of life, but the people were distracted and had lost their connection with Jesus. They were just enjoying “doing church,” but not remembering the most important Reason for church… Jesus Himself! Jesus reminded them to turn back to their relationship with Him, He was going to come to them unexpectedly and take away the things that they enjoyed, but had distracted them from their purpose. John takes this dictation from Jesus, “Write this letter to the angel of the church in Sardis. This is the message from the one who has the sevenfold Spirit of God and the seven stars: “I know all the things you do, and that you have a reputation for being alive—but you are dead. Wake up! Strengthen what little remains, for even what is left is almost dead. I find that your actions do not meet the requirements of my God. Go back to what you heard and believed at first; hold to it firmly. Repent and turn to me again. If you don’t wake up, I will come to you suddenly, as unexpected as a thief. Revelation 3:1-3 (NLT2) We can’t wait for the pain of an unexpected wakeup call to remember why we are here as God’s people. We are here to represent Him and His people well. We are here to love God and love those He loves. That love will drive our actions rather than simply doing those things that are most comfortable, enjoyable, exciting, (fill in the blank) for us. We are a part of a much bigger plan than our own life and our own little world. We are God’s people and we are now on His agenda to love people well and be His ministers in this world. This world is desperate for His loving connection whether they know it or not and we gotta represent Him well.

Hang in there! God is with us! I’m praying for us all!