High Pockets, Haymakers and Flash

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I hope you enjoy this trip down memory lane. You will see why I say The Sweetheart is a good sport. Be blessed!

After 43 years of wedded bliss, The Sweetheart has always, always preferred me before himself. He has been a gentleman and yet, at the same time, assumed the masculine role of Helper, Handyman and Hero all at the same time.

Except for one day in particular that stands out to me.

The year was 1982.

The place? That is a story in itself.

In high school, The Sweetheart was not known by the title I have bestowed upon him. That would have been weird. He had several names in his Joe Cool days such as,

  • High Pockets (six-foot-two-152-pounds-soaking-wet-all-legs)

  • Haymaker. This was his CB handle. Back-in-the-day we didn’t have cell phones, texting, Facebook, twitter or Instagram. Say what?! A CB (Citizens Band radio) was the coolest thing around for a country boy. “Breaker, breaker, 1-9, this is Haymaker, anybody on?” The Haymaker handle came from the fact that this good-lookin’ guy could heave bales of hay over his head like they were empty cardboard boxes. (Be still my beating heart!)

  • Flash. Yeah. Flash. This High Pocket Haymaker was a pretty good photographer. Again, we are going back in time for some of you…before the digital age, before you could take 1,000 pictures on your cellphone and not worry about how much it would cost. We had something called film that DID cost and we had also had flashbulbs on less expensive cameras and flash attachments on his professional cameras. They didn’t come with a flash, that was something you purchased extra. Hence, the nickname.

Flash spent much of his high school days with the journalism and yearbook staff. He was the resident photographer at many, many events. He landed a job at a photo finishing lab known for their same-day-turn-around. This was a major big deal in the late 1970’s folks. Take your film into the store and come back and pick it up later that day. Huge.

High Pocket Haymaker Flash gets married and decided to open his own photo finishing lab in a neighboring town.

Big dreams, no money, big dreams.

High Pocket Haymaker Flash has a Cute, Adorable and Very Young Wife who delights in helping him in his adventures and most every day you would find them developing film and handing out pictures to happy customers.

The first couple of weeks after the grand opening, Flash and his Cute, Adorable and Very Young Wife were driving their orders back to his former employers’ store for developing while awaiting the arrival of a piece of equipment. The Cute, Adorable and Very Young Wife was designated most days to make the 30 minute drive.

Now, Flash had a car that fit his name perfectly. For his graduation present, his parents had bought him a brand new Camaro, firethorn red in color. Super cool. (I just happen to have a picture of it in his driveway.)

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Flash, being the loving young newlywed husband that he was, gave the car to his Cute, Adorable and Very Young Wife and bought himself a truck.

His Cute, Adorable and Very Young Wife hated the truck.

She didn’t dislike it because it was a stick-shift. Her first car was a stick and Flash had taught her how to drive it when she was only 16. She wasn’t fond of the truck because it just wasn’t cute. But the car went fast. The car was red. The car turned heads and she was Cute, Adorable and Very Young.

We should pause here and catch up the reader to the fact that Flash and his Cute, Adorable and Very Young Wife were married almost two years when they were blessed with a Blond-Hair-Blue-Eyed-Boy-Wonder that turned their world upside down in a very good way. The super cool Camaro would soon be replaced with something more practical but, for now, they still enjoyed feeling young and invincible. And the Blond-Hair-Blue-Eyed-Boy-Wonder was staying with my good friend, The-World’s-Best-Babysitter.

high pockets

So back to the first two weeks of owning the new business…Flash has the order all ready to take north and his Cute, Adorable and Very Young Wife is all set to jump in her super cool car and start the journey. But Flash decides she should take his truck, for reasons that this writer, who has aged many years since then, cannot remember. Still, he was insistent and even though she protested because she detested driving the truck, and hadn’t learned how to pout and get her way, grabbed the keys and jumped in the little Nissan.

Heading down the four-lane highway in the town where they had their business, Flash’s Cute, Adorable and Very Young Wife had not gone far when an elderly lady in a tank pulls out in front of her. There was no time, people, no time at all to even think of finding a way out. All she remembers is a loud crash and pain. Lots of pain.

The Cute, Adorable and Very Young Wife jumps out of the truck because she thought it was on fire (just the radiator ma’am) and takes two steps before she collapses in the arms of the leader of the Hells Angels, her knight-in-shining-armor and the only soul on the highway who stopped to help. He picks her up and sets her back inside the truck telling her to wait for the ambulance. (I am not making this up!)

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Well, that shouldn’t take long. Where does this accident take place you ask? Directly in front of the town hospital; and even then, all of those years ago, someone brighter than me and you decided that sending an ambulance to their front yard made more sense than the policeman just pulling in the driveway with the injured. Go figure.

In the Emergency Room all is a blur. There is blood everywhere but we deduce that it is all from a lost front tooth that met hard with the steering wheel. The doctor was convinced both legs were broken from the impact and they were preparing for x-rays. The nurse wanted to call Flash to come but the Cute, Adorable and Very Young Wife knew he couldn’t leave the lab. There were no other employees at the time, Flash was all alone. Yet, the nurse insisted because she thought the injuries were severe enough that someone should be there. She dialed the number but handed the phone to the Cute, Adorable and Very Young Wife and the conversation went something like this:

Flash: Photo Finish, how may I help you?

Cute, Adorable and Very Young Wife: I’ve been in an accident and haven’t made it to the lab yet. Can you come?

Flash: I don’t have time for jokes, I’m very busy. Where are you and why aren’t you there?

Cute, Adorable and Very Young Wife: I said I’ve had a wreck! I’m at the hospital now and they want you to come!

Flash: Listen, I’m glad you think we have time for humor but I am swamped now get going and call me when you are ready to head back.

Cute, Adorable and Very Young Wife: But Flash, I’m really hurt, they think I’ve broken both my legs!

This is when my opinion of the nursing profession soars and I envision one of my children with an RN and many other credentials after their birth name. She takes over and grabs the phone from me:

Nursing Professional with Domineering Personality: Mr. Flash? This is the hospital ER department. Your Cute, Adorable and Very Young Wife has been in a terrible accident. We are preparing for x-rays on her legs immediately. I strongly suggest you get in your car right now and GET HERE. Did I make myself clear?

Flash: On my way.

Flash does come to the rescue of his Cute, Adorable and Very Young Wife. Her legs, fortunately, were not broken, only badly bruised and traumatized. The next stop was the dentist’s office, after hours, to deaden the root of the lost tooth. The driver of the other car, who was in her late 80’s btw, was not injured, thankfully, and was very concerned about the Cute, Adorable and Very Young Wife.

The moral of the story?

We disagree on that, the two of us.

Flash and his Cute, Adorable and Very Young Wife learned many things that fateful day.

Flash lost his beloved little truck and his Cute, Adorable and Very Young Wife talked him into a new family car.

His Cute, Adorable and Very Young Wife is reminded of that painful day every time she looks in the mirror at the new tooth that just doesn’t seem to belong.

Flash continued to shoot weddings and Little League teams before he made his way into the world of air traffic control. But the most important thing is that he now wears the title of Hero and has never missed a chance to rescue his damsel-in-distress since that unforgettable day all of those years ago.

p.s. His Cute, Adorable and Very Young Wife had a CB handle too! I was his Sunshine. Of course!
So, Happy Birthday, Flash! You’ve worn many titles since then including The Sweetheart but now you relish your most earned and beloved title of Poppy to your half dozen grands. We may have changed a bit since those glory days of our youth but we are still together, celebrating life and being thankful for the blessings of our God.

 

God sends people.

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Years ago, during a particularly trying time in my life, I was desperate for answers. I had been praying and asking God for a miracle, or at least for clear direction. I imagined letters falling from heaven and lightning bolts to come out of the sky in answer to my prayer.

But it didn’t happen.

God answered the prayer in an unexpected way. He sent a person. He sent a friend in this instance.

This friend drove from another state, several hours, just to BE with all of us. She didn’t even have the answers; God had not given her specific direction but to GO. So she did just that. She stayed until God said to go back home and all was well. God knew what we needed at that time; we needed Him and He came through our friend.

Look at the story of Moses in the Book of Exodus 18:13-27. Moses was spending from sun-up to sun-down weighing the problems of the people. It didn’t matter how trivial or how important it was, they waited in line to talk to Moses, the man of God. Moses was worn out, physically, mentally and spiritually! Who wouldn’t be? We don’t have proof that Moses even asked God for help but Jehovah-Jireh knew something had to be done.

He sent Jethro. Jethro was Moses’ father-in-law and although he was just there to visit, he was watching what was taking place every day and he could easily see Moses was stretched too thin.  His answer? He suggested wisely that Moses appoint leaders over 1,000, over 100, over 50 and over 10 people. Moses would deal with the hard stuff and the capable people he appointed would deal with the day-to-day matters of what kind of toilet tissue to buy.

In this instance, God didn’t speak directly to Moses as He had done before, He didn’t even whisper to him in a still small voice. He sent another person.

Your answered prayer may come in many different forms. One of my favorite sermons of all time was preached by a man from Louisiana who told of the hardships he had experienced growing up in a home with no father. His mother was a very hard working Christian woman; there just wasn’t enough to go around. But his mother knew how to pray and he said she didn’t just bow her head and mumble a few words but she would shut herself in her bedroom and bombard the heavens until the answer came.

One particular time they were completely out of groceries of any kind. She told the children that she was going to prayer and was not coming out until God sent an answer. She began to pray and remind God of all He had done for her before, how He could see those precious little ones, that she was faithful to serve Him and loved Him with all of her heart. She quoted scripture on how He promised to never leave or forsake her.

All of a sudden there came a knock at the door and the little boy opened the door to see a man standing there that he did not recognize. He asked to speak to the woman of the house but the little boy knew he dare not bother Momma, she had warned in no uncertain circumstances for anyone to interrupt her prayer time. The man asked again and again to see her and the children refused. The man got in his pickup truck, and instead of tearing out the driveway, he turned it around and backed it up to the tiny house trailer. He began unloading sack after sack after sack, full of all the staples any household would ever need, and then some. He filled the kitchen table, the counter tops, the kitchen floor and all the way to the door. When he was finished he simply said, “Goodbye” as the children watched in shock and awe.

The little boy ran to his mother’s room and began to beat on the door. “Don’t bother me, Son, I’m praying!” The little boy was trying to tell her what had happened but she prayed on. Finally, he could stand it no longer and yelled as loud as he could, “The answer already came!”

Momma came out to find her home full of groceries and began to shout and praise God. He had answered her prayer, not with money, but by another person who was willing to go and listen to the voice of God.

“Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow….” Matthew 6:31-34.

Are you waiting on an answer from the Lord? He provides! He might not answer the way YOU think He should but answer He will. He might even tell you to wait or to be patient in the waiting but the answer will come.

It might come in the form of another.

Unexpected and surprising, God might just send people to answer your prayer.

Has He surprised you at other times with an unexpected answer, in an unexpected way? Share with us your testimony to encourage others!

 

Did Jesus actually sweat blood in the Garden of Gethsemane?

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Today is obviously the day before Good Friday, the crucifixion. But today there is also The Cup, the agony in the Garden, and I just cannot get away from it. You can catch up on posts you may have missed this week: Hosanna, Hanging on His Every Word, What will you give me? and Because He Lives.

Most of us are aware of Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane. He prays to be spared the suffering that is to come. He knows the agony He must endure and He prays, “Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; Yet not as I will, but as you will.” Matthew 26:39, NIV.

When the mother of James and John approached Jesus with the request for her sons to sit on His right and left in the Kingdom, Jesus asked them, “Are you able to drink from the bitter cup of suffering I am about to drink?” “Oh yes, we are able!” they replied.  But they didn’t understand what they were saying.

It was a cup filled with Old Testament and New Testament sins and judgment from the past and the present and it was filled with our sins too. Mine, yours, the ugly, the whispered, the hushed, the secret, all of them from the beginning of time were in the cup.

Jesus then leaves the disciples in the garden to go and pray. But it isn’t just, “Now, I lay me down to sleep” prayers. The Bible says, “…being in anguish, He prayed more earnestly, and His sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.” Luke 22:44, NKJV.  

Luke is the only Gospel writer to mention this. Luke is also the only one to refer to Jesus as being in agony. Jesus was in such a state of physical and spiritual agony that he could have produced what is known as hematohidrosis, or hemohidrosis, a rare medical condition where a person may actually sweat blood! Acute fear and intense mental contemplation were found to be the most frequent inciting causes.

While the extent of blood loss generally is minimal, hematidrosis also results in the skin becoming extremely tender and fragile. Around the sweat glands, there are blood vessels that when under pressure and great stress they constrict. Then, when the anxiety passes, they dilate to the point of rupture and the blood then goes into the sweat glands. When the sweat glands are producing a lot of sweat, it pushes the blood to the surface, coming out as drops of blood mixed with sweat. (Barbet, 1953, pp. 74-75; Lumpkin, 1978).

True, we do not know if our Savior actually sweated blood, but it is interesting that it is mentioned and the scientific, medical facts make it even more interesting! We know that the agony of what He was about to endure caused Jesus to pray so earnestly that He did sweat, so intensely that it was dripping on the ground and the Bible says it was like drops of blood.

Sweat is introduced in Genesis 3:19, introduced with Sin. Matthew Henry says it like this: “And therefore, when Christ was made sin and a curse for us, he underwent a grievous sweat, that in the sweat of his face we might eat bread, and that he might sanctify and sweeten all our trials to us.”

Surely Jesus was aware of the suffering that was to come. We get our word excruciating from the word crucifixion. It was one of the most painful torture methods ever invented; perfected by the Romans and reserved for the most vicious of criminals. It was a hideously slow and painful death. “I am poured out like water, and all My bones are out of joint.” Psalm 22:14. (Click here if you want to read an extensive medical breakdown of the crucifixion.)

It wasn’t just the agony of the crucifixion; it wasn’t just the taunting of the Roman soldiers, the beatings he would endure or the humiliation. The real stress and fear was the knowledge that He would bear the sins of the world and would be forsaken by the Father. He could have easily avoided all of this if He wanted to and called ten thousand angels to His side at any moment! “He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth.” Isaiah 53:5-7, NKJV.

But He faced the fear so we wouldn’t have to and kept praying, “Yet not as I will, but as You will.” Matthew 26:39,NIV.

John Piper says it so beautifully, “If we were to look at Jesus’ death merely as a result of a betrayer’s deceit and the Sanhedrin’s envy and Pilate’s spinelessness and the soldier’s nails and spear, it might seem very involuntary. And the benefit of salvation that comes to us who believe might be viewed as God’s way of making a virtue out of a necessity. But once you read Luke 9:51, all such thoughts vanish. “As the time drew near for him to ascend to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.”

He planned it all and He appointed a time, for you, for me. “For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And the ransom he paid was not mere gold or silver. It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God.” 1 Peter 1:18, 19

“From these factors, it is evident that even before Jesus endured the torture of the cross, He suffered far beyond what most of us will ever suffer. His penetrating awareness of the heinous nature of sin, its destructive and deadly effects, the sorrow and heartache that it inflicts, and the extreme measure necessary to deal with it, make the passion of Christ beyond comprehension.” -Dave Miller Ph.D. Apologetics Press

Even in the midst of this difficult week leading up to Calvary, there is hope and there is comfort in the fact that Jesus CHOSE to go, for you and for me. He chose the pain and suffering.

Be encouraged in this dark time for our nation and our world, Jesus paid the price so we wouldn’t have to!

For the kingdomS

Barbet. P. (1953), A Doctor at Calvary: The Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ as Described by a Surgeon (Garden City, NY: Doubleday Image Books).