The first time I saw the movie, I literally couldn’t believe I was losing one hour and thirty-two minutes of my life. My husband and I don’t always share the same sense of humor. But on a regular basis, we make sacrifices for each other. It was my turn, and he wanted to watch Dodgeball.
It had been one of those weeks. Maybe even a month. I felt like I was constantly waiting for the next bomb to drop. I hadn’t completely navigated the prior challenge when the next one would appear. You might be familiar with some of the following: Your child failed to inform you of the concert at school (tonight); which of course conflicts with your newest committee meeting. The lights on your dashboard decided that two days before your vacation was a good time to bring attention to themselves. Your spouse suddenly doesn’t have any underwear without holes and somehow that’s your fault. The teacher sends an email to remind you that you signed up to provide snacks for the last student day before fall break. Your bank calls to notify you that your card’s been hacked. Again. The kennel doesn’t have room for the dog. And it’s only noon. You’re considering booking a flight this afternoon and not telling anyone that you’re leaving for vacation without them.
All joking aside, life is hard. I’ll never forget the first time Brandon called me from jail. I vividly remember the concussion Grant got from the home-opening soccer game his senior year that landed us in the ER. I can give pretty decent details about the day someone walked into the study hall at the junior high to tell my friend that her dad had been killed in a car accident. I can close my eyes and relive standing in line at the funeral home with my dad. We were there to pay respects to my friend, Derk, who had been beaten to death. When we arrived at the casket where Derk’s dad was holding vigil, he looked at my dad and said, “This is a club I didn’t want to be in”. No dad should be burying his son. The following week, Clark was standing in line to hug my dad and me as we buried my brother.
Events from our lives often resemble that stupid movie. “If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball.” Or, “The 5 D’s of dodgeball are: Dodge, duck, dip, dive, and dodge”. Often, we find the game even harder because not only are we trying to avoid being taken out by that dang ball, but we’re trying to hurl another ball to take out someone else. I’m not even sure that we always realize we’re doing that. But our frustration, anger, hurt, confusion, etc. can be detrimental to more than just you and me. There’s often collateral damage.
We can’t always (or generally) avoid the game. It’s part of this life on earth that we find ourselves in. But others are watching. People are yearning for something with meaning and purpose. Make all of this stupid game make sense. My life hasn’t gotten easier since discovering Jesus and the gospel. In fact, arguments could be made for the opposite. But how I respond speaks volumes even if I can’t mumble a single word.
2 Corinthians 1:8-9 ~ “………….For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself…….But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God………….”