lucky

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I Was Jousting Recently And Maybe Got Lucky

Who does jousting anymore? That’s soooo 12th century. 

I was jousting recently and maybe got lucky

Have you ever found yourself in a situation that would have been more common in a different decade or generation?

When I was in high school, we would often listen to music from the late fifties and early sixties. We’d have sock hops and greaser days when we’d dress in sixties’ fashions and dance to the old tunes in the cafeteria. 

That was definitely something out of the past. But for us it was living out scenes from just a decade or two earlier. 

The other day I experienced a situation from over a thousand years ago. I was mountain biking and found myself jousting with a tree limb. 

You can tell by the picture that I didn’t win.

Many people have been to or seen video of the Medieval Knights theme restaurants. There you experience eating with your hands, drinking from a pewter stein, and watching knights on horses jousting in an arena.

This week I was riding some trails up at our cottage. These trails are not used very much and I had a lot of clearing to do. I bring a folding saw with me so I stopped to swath ferns and brush, as well as cut trees and branches that fell across the path.

One tree limb sticking out a good deal into the path but it was facing the opposite way I was heading. I didn’t want to stop right then, but I did think I’d better remember this tree limb because it will be facing me on the way back. 

Well, that spot was about forty minutes later on the way back … and I’d forgotten about it. It was right at a turn in the path and on an uphill rise. 

I came on it so quickly I only saw it a second or two before … that’s right, it got me.

This was a broken tree limb about three inches in diameter with a jagged end. With the rise in the path, it was about head or shoulder level.

I swerved a little but it got me in the shoulder and knocked me back off my bike. And by the way, my shoes are clipped into my pedals.

If you’ve ever been ejected off the back of a sea-doo, that’s what it was like. 

It happened in a matter of seconds. The tree limb won the joust and I was picking myself up off the ground. 

You bet I cut that limb down and cleared the path right away.

I just want to know, was I really lucky or what?

Here’s the thing: That tree limb should have torn my shoulder apart. I should have been a mess. But looking back on the incident, I think the tree caught the shoulder strap of my backpack. I’ve seen seat belt marks on people who’ve been in an car accident like the marks I had. So was I just lucky?

Some would say yes, but I don’t think so. I believe God saved me from a far worse result that day. In fact, when I look back on my life, I think God has prevented or protected me more times than I can count. Yes, I’ve had some bad things happen to me, but God has kept me from other major disasters. Look at your life and try to explain all the times you should have been more hurt or even have died, but were somehow protected. Trust God. He does care for you and He saves you – even from that time you were jousting with a tree.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: When have you experienced being saved from something far worse, yet have no explanation how? Leave your comments and questions below.

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Why We All Think We Are Lucky

 

I thought just young people believed they were invincible. It turns out that most of us think nothing bad is going to happen to us.

tick-bites

In the last month I have heard of three people getting ticks. Two of them I see at least on a weekly basis. And it’s a little serious because about 20% of the ticks in this region of Ontario carry Lime disease.

The tick problem in our parts concerns me because I mountain bike in wooded areas … which is prime territory for the minute little creatures. I just recently found out that a guy, who bikes in the same place I bike, picked up a tick on the weekend.

Knowing this bothers me. But, you know what? I’m not going to stop biking in the area.

Some precautions are to wear long-sleeved shirts, and long pants tucked into your socks. You should also splash on a good dose of repellent with Deet in it.

That’s all fine and dandy but I’m not biking in attire that is fit for a Spruce Meadows equestrian event. Nor am I crazy about using mosquito repellent as cologne for the next several months.

I have a good mind to take my chances when I go biking. And that’s the thing – if there really is a 20% chance of getting a tick with Lime disease, that means I have an 80% chance of not getting one.

That causes one to start thinking, “How lucky do I feel?” It’s the same question Clint Eastwood asked the bad guy in one of his movies. He pointed his gun at the robber and said “You’re thinking, ‘Did he fire six shots or only five?’ … well you have to ask yourself, ‘Do I feel lucky?’”

We all take risks all the time, and not just with ticks, but with other things, too. In an article I read on heart attack recovery, it said up to 80% of heart attack survivors return to previous unhealthy lifestyle patterns.

We think that even though we’re not doing all that we should, we’ll still be okay.

It’s supposed to be those who are 16 – 28 that think they’re untouchable. But I wonder if they are just coming by these traits naturally by watching older generations living like the cat down the street with nine lives.

I think this mentality has more to do with habit and less to do with feeling lucky. I think we have a hard time giving up what we like. We don’t like giving up our comfort foods, our sedentary lifestyle, our fashion, or even what something feels like when we have it on (repellent or sunscreen).

So every day we wake up and, without consciously thinking it, we act like we feel lucky.

Here’s the thing: We can live our whole life thinking that either there is no God or that in the end God will befriend us. If you live that way you have to ask yourself, “Do I feel lucky?”, because if you’re wrong, the consequences are eternal.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: How do you take little risks every day without thinking about the consequences? I’d really like to hear from you; you can leave your comment below.