Hero to Zero

Last Sunday night, our church had an all church skating night. I love these skating nights because I have skated since I was little. If I got my room clean then my brother and I could go skating. We would go every Saturday. The owner would teach us tricks and how to speed skate.


 I met my wife Stephanie skating. Stephanie and I both have our own skates. I am a great skater, I can skate backwards, sideways, I can spin..... I say all this to explain my Hero to Zero night of skating.


I hadn't been feeling well for a few weeks and so Stephanie and I both left our personal skates at home because I told Stephanie and my children I wasn't going to skate. 


I was doing well, just hanging out and playing pool with some of the teens. Then they had the numbers game and said you could play it with or without skates. So I went out in my shoes and actually won the game never leaving the number 4 corner.




 I went back to my pool playing. When all of a sudden I heard them stop the music and said please stop and go in the opposite direction, It was 6:22 pm because I looked at the clock and started thinking I love going in the opposite direction because I can skate side ways the whole time, like I am surfing. I had the rationale that It wouldn't hurt if I just went around a few times sideways.


Temptation starts when we have the rationale that it won't hurt if I just do it a little.


So I walked up to the skate counter and asked if I could borrow a pair of skates for the opposite direction skate. The owner is a friend of mine so they gave me a professional pair just like mine.


Again I had the thought that if I am going to go around just a couple of times I probably don't need to lace my skates up all the way and just tied them half way up. They were pretty lose.


Temptation continues when you start cutting corners in life because you think you are so good you don't have to do what you know you need to do to be safe.


So I skated up to go on the skate floor and Stephanie saw me and said , What do you think you are doing??  I thought we agreed that we both were not going to skate.   I reply but it will just be a couple of laps...... (at the end of the night she told me she thought I had asked for the opposite direction skate.)


So I went out and started skating and came to the first turn and then turned my skates and started skating sideways... I was thinking yeah look at me, I am the man. the announcer announced that I was out on the skating floor and now I am thinking I am all that and a bag of chips...... til I came to the second end by where I had started.


Temptation continues when you think you can't fail because you are so awesome and nothing can stop me and you don't need to listen to great advice.


Just as I was coming around the corner picking up speed, 2 children without skates ran onto the skate floor right in front of me and I thought if I hit them, I would kill them. (normally if my skates were tied tight and I was skating straight this wouldn't have been such a problem. I probably would have just grabbed them and kept on skating but I was skating sideways in very loose skates.


 The only way that I could see to not hit them was to hit one of the pillars in the middle of the skate floor and spin around it and miss the children. So I turned into the pillar(okay I hit the Pillar) and spun around it and spared these 2 children. I thought I heard clapping and cheering that I was a hero for not running into these children. I hear them talking and my chest swells.  I think I am a Hero and so I may go around one more time like a victory lap. Because I am The MAN!!


Temptation can come when you get a swelled head and you think you are a Hero...PRIDE!!!!




So as I start out on my own personal victory lap, I run into the wall but that does stop me I am a hero and on a hero lap... I come around the first turn on the other end and am picking up speed.  AS I come down the straight way I am cruising along and then as I come up to the second end. you will never guess what happened! A little boy with no skates runs out on to the floor followed by 3 adults chasing him and I again am about to kill a child and take the parents out as well.  Can't get to the pillar so I decide if I spin around I can go straight and try to avoid them.  Did I mention I didn't tie my skates or tighten them before I skated??  


I went to spin, which if I had taken some time with my skates wouldn't have been an issue, and I lost control and spun myself into the splits and threw myself onto the floor... It hurt BAD,,, REAALLY BAD!!!!   My  18 year old comes over and asked me if I split my pants. I say no as I am moaning a bit. Stephanie comes up and kept asking me if I wanted ice and  I very politely said no.


I didn't want to get up, I kick off my loose skates without untying them. I sit up and start to untie my skate the man running the skating told me I didn't have to undue the skates he would get them,. but asked me if I was okay. I got up slowly and walked awkwardly off the floor and felt sick.


I no longer felt like a hero, right now I totally felt like a ZERO.  


I had to drive our church van home with the teens and could barely lift my leg off the gas to push the brake..


I share this story because this all started when I started to think I knew what was best for me and thought I had a better plan and so I didn't listen to anyone else.  After I ran into trouble the first time instead of stopping because I already hurt from hitting the pole, knowing I probably shouldn't be on skates, I let my pride take over thinking again I knew what was best and I crashed and burned.


How many times do we think we know the plan for our life better than God?


WE let pride get in the way and keep doing what we know we shouldn't be doing and get hurt. We want to blame the children, the skates , and everyone, sometimes we even blame God.


 We blame everyone but ourselves for not doing what we knew we should be doing.


WE need to know that God has a plan for our lives and it is a good plan.


If you want to be the MAN,          then follow God's plan!!!!