Overcoming Limitations

The tennis ball lobbed back and forth, baseline to baseline of the court. I stopped and watched, amazed. Normally, tennis on our nearby courts doesn't transfix me, but this little game did. Both contestants were in wheelchairs. How on earth are they getting the power to smack the ball so hard when they are unable to use any power but the strength of their arm? I put my whole body momentum and force behind my shots! And how are they able to zip around the court quickly enough to reach the shot in the first place?

One man saw me watching as he paused to retrieve a ball. I waved. He waved back and returned to his game. I walked on, inspired. Never succumb to limitations. So many can be overcome.

That afternoon my trebuchet team gathered at Josh's house again. They spent four hours brainstorming and tinkering.
"When we go to Nationals," began Josh.
"Nationals?" I said, "We have to win at States to do that."
"I know," he said, "I intend to. Well at least to medal."
Now I know that means their trebuchet has to fire projectiles three times, if not four times, further than it currently is.... but I had the vision of tennis players in wheelchairs that stilled my pessimism.

They came up with ingenious ideas which I cannot divulge in case the spies for teams throughout the world are hitting the blogosphere. They spent four hours. Darkness descended, and we were still firing the trebuchet into the night while the little sisters begged us to go home so they could go to bed. I don't know if all the effort made significant changes or not. But I do know that something special had happened to my team that had just missed medaling in this event at the regional competition. They realized how close they were to victory. And they were perhaps even seized by the scientific fever, the desire to understand, to explore, to figure out, to find the elegant solution that had eluded them....well ok. Maybe not. Maybe it was just the allure of round shiny medals on satin hung around their necks. But someday, they would look back on it all and realize they had learned something too, and that was the more valued prize of the whole shebang.

Asherel and I are studying the book of Philippians, and she asked me about a portion of a verse that puzzled her.
"What does it mean in Phillipians 2:10, that every knee shall bow to Christ, even those under the earth?"

I love Asherel's questions. They are often about phrases I have glossed over in my own reading.
"Well, if you look at the whole verse, it says at the name of Jesus, all will ultimately worship him, whether in heaven, on earth, or under earth. I presume it means hell. Ultimately, even those who rejected Him and turned their backs on Him will see that He is indeed who He claimed to be. They make a conscious decision to reject Him, but even in the torment of Hell, the further torment of seeing the truth of the One they did not want to believe in will perhaps be the worst torment of all. But no one ends up there that doesn't want to be there. God desires that everyone would come to Him.  So if we believe that, what is the message for us today, in how we live?"
"We should tell others," she said.
"And even further, what should we do to be able to tell others well?"
"We need to be gracious," she said, "And prepared."
"And that is what this whole life of education is about," I told her, "You never ever know when something you have learned will be useful. So learn all you can, absorb all you can, while you are young and your brain that is so strong and gifted can do so. You never know when some fact, some experience, something you learned may make a difference."

Maybe my team is just finding out about how to pound out every imperfection of a flinging machine. But maybe, just maybe, they are also finding out how to squeeze every bit of knowledge out of an experience that someday they may be quite unexpectedly called upon to use.  You just never know where life will take you and what strengths or wisdom or character you will have to have developed to follow the path you will need to follow. You never know when some idea, or fact, or experience, may tip the scale and usher someone from a descent into Hell the other way.  I closed my eyes and saw tennis players in wheelchairs, laughing in the sunlit court.

Philippians 2: 9-13
 ⁹ Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
   and gave him the name that is above every name,
¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
   in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
¹¹ and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
   to the glory of God the Father.

 ¹² Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, ¹³ for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.

Watching Carefully

The sign on the door of the arena where the huge Dog Agility contest was being held said, "No dogs allowed!"  Walking my own dog, as I was chuckling over that sign posted near the signs for the Dog Agility Trial, I noticed a man entering the arena with a three legged dog. While it clearly was agile in its own right, I doubt the dog could've cleared a jump or run the course. Perhaps he was just coming to watch, to dream of what could've been.It certainly brought a smile to my face. Then I passed a woman who was speaking to her dogs, who were voraciously sniffing every wet spot beneath the bushes.
"OK" she said, "Time to go now. Have you read all your P-mail?"

Comic vignette after vignette flashed across my screen, as I watched life broadcast all around me. And I thought of all the information, all the messages, all the laughter that is ever present if I just manage to be alert and look for it. I have never been terribly enamored with movies or television, though I can lose myself permanently in a good book. But I think the reason I don't like to commit myself to the hours of watching actors portray life is I am so anxious to just go out and live it myself. I don't mean that as a slam to those who love movies or TV- when I do manage to watch some shows, I see the attraction and there is much to learn and enjoy.  But my spirit is bent peculiarly, and I am certain that if I am not awake and prowling, eyes wide open and scanning the horizon, God is sending me an important message that I might miss. I am like the dog, reading every spot of P-mail, certain that one dog has something so crucial to say that it is worth ripping the owner's arm off to not be budged from that enticing message.              

And so I was pondering those three seemingly unconnected events, linked only by the time in which they occurred- the sign prohibiting the very animals the show was based upon, the handicapped dog who clearly was entering an arena he could never succeed in, and the dog sniffing every message that was being conveyed by every member of his species as best he could within the limits of the leash.  The first two were humorously incongruous, and in a way, so was the third. We humans do not go around seeking information by smelling each others' derrieres or sniffing out where we have pee'd.  Some humans are disgusted by the fact that dogs do this. However, some humans understand- like the owner who called it "P-mail."  She was able to step outside her species-specific comprehension to think like a dog, and respect his needs, though they were certainly not her own (one would presume). And even more importantly, she gave his needs a dignity and respect commensurate with her own. Just as she could not start her morning without strong coffee and reading her email, she knew the dog needed to sniff bottoms and pee spots.

When Honeybun finished reading her "p-mail", we returned to the arena and prepared for her next class. For me, that meant reaching a target heart rate of 200 beats a minute, breathing deeply, and practicing some of the relaxation techniques I learned birthing my 9 pound babies.  And I am just spectating. I cannot imagine what I would be like if I were the handler running the course. Asherel seems cool and nonplussed, though surely she must feel some trepidation. Honeybun, curiously, sits on the bleacher steps and with laser focus, watches the competition. I am not a dog, so can only humanize what she is thinking, but she certainly seems to be sizing up her chances, watching and memorizing the course, and deciding how she will behave when her turn comes. Further down the arena, the three legged dog was watching too. And I will bet there were some potential contenders who read the "No dogs allowed" sign, and with a deep and self pitying sigh, drove home.

Honeybun had sized up the competition in more ways than just watching. She had also sniffed out the pheromones of every dog in the place and she had established the pack hierarchy and pecking order. She knew more about the dogs in that arena than the owners did.

And when her turn came, she decided she hadn't a snowball's chance in Charlotte of beating those border collies, so instead, she raced exuberantly around, popping into play position, and occasionally glancing Asherel's way. She was not focused, but she had a lot of fun, and Polly, our mentor, tells us that is what it is all about. She didn't "Q" (qualify) that day, or ribbon, but she taught Asherel some valuable insights in handling a nervous, excited dog.

And later that day, a woman stopped me, when she saw me walk by with Honeybun.
"Was it  you handling that dog this morning?" she asked.
"No, that was my daughter."
"Well give her a message for me. I was so impressed. The dog was obviously excited and nervous and your daughter stayed so calm. She gave the dog exactly what was needed. She handled her superbly. She has obviously had some excellent training."
(Thankyou Polly, Deb, and all the trainers at Charlotte Dog Training Club for that last part!)

So while the day didn't end in ribbons, Asherel glowed a little when I told her what the lady said. I realized then the connection of those three seemingly unconnected events of the morning walk. First, if you are being told don't enter the arena where you know you are supposed to be, don't listen!!! Go in anyway!! Secondly, if you have handicaps that prevent you from being a contender, don't be afraid to enjoy the wonder of life around you. Your very presence may be making someone smile. And thirdly, understand what others are feeling and go out of your way to find out about them and communicate a message, especially one of hope and encouragement.

Deuteronomy 15: 10
¹⁰ Give generously to them and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to.

Micah 7:7
 ⁷ But as for me, I watch in hope for the LORD,
   I wait for God my Savior;
   my God will hear me.