Personal Foul

Saturday was my dad’s 62nd birthday. Most twins are born about 15 minutes apart. My dad’s twin made his world debut about 55 minutes after my dad’s. Things really haven’t changed much. The whole Coomer family knows John Carroll is always early and Harold is usually late. This weekend I heard Nana’s “It’s Time” story. Granddaddy decided that he needed to take care of a few things before he was ready to leave for the hospital. When he was finally ready he Nana told him he better drive the car faster. A few minutes later she said, “You really better go faster.” Not long after, “You really have to go faster right now!” They arrived at the hospital in Lexington. Granddaddy dropped Nana off at the ER. After parking his car a nurse met him at the hospital door. “Rev. Coomer! You have a baby boy!” Dad was ready and when he’s ready you know it. Now Uncle Harold is more of the hurry-up and wait types. We joked that he was in there packing up a few more books. Finishing a few letters. Putting away some socks. He takes his time. There is something to be said for each style. If you know anything about making dry beans then you know that sometimes you’re really hungry and you do a “quick soak”. Other times you let the pot simmer for hours. Knitters know it’s the same way when it comes to yarn. There are days when you want the more immediate gratification of a scarf knit of thick thick bulky yarn on some size 18 needles. Then there are projects that require the commitment of a lot of stitches and a lot of knitting hours. Perhaps why I've not attempted a sweater yet?

The same can be said of our spiritual lives. My dad has preached a sermon on Microwave Christians and Crock-pot Christians. I think I’ve been a Microwave Christian for a while and I’m trying to find the outlet to plug my crock-pot in again. Sometimes I question if I have any discipline at all. I want to knit the blanket...but I give up and work on a scarf. I need to spend more time in prayer and allow God to renew my heart and mind. I have a little bit of candle light...but I need a big ol' spot light! My senior pastor, Dr. Mike Ripski, recently preached a sermon on taking the time to pray. I’m usually kind of over sports being used as analogies to the Christian life. But Mike used a basketball analogy so, a) he got my attention b) I understood it. And it was a good one. In basketball time-outs are important. It gives the players a rest. It lets the players tell the coach what’s been going on (even though he’s watching the game and already knows). Most importantly it allows the coach to talk to the players and give them the game plan. I needed that. I needed to be reminded of the importance of taking “time-outs”. The ref has blown the whistle...