In your life you will go through many different stages. Some are
pronounced, and lifestyle changing, as learning to crawl, then walk-just ask
your mother who couldn’t wait until you did, and then was exhausted from chasing
you wishing you weren’t. Riding your first two wheeler sans training wheels is
another stage, and then it your first ten speed, then your first mini-bike, then
your first motorcycle, then as you get older you digress, and finally you come
to the age where you just wish you could walk again, and have your mother
chasing after you. But in between come some events, some memorable because they
were unforgettable, some you wish you could forget because they too were
unforgettable. Now I have never been known for being light on my feet, but
heavy on others, and during the ninth grade awards assembly I got to show off my
skills, or lack thereof. I was co-captain of both basketball and football teams
that year, and we got called up first to get the awards, then the team
followed. It was the event of the school year, where you are recognized by the
whole school, and I was ready-at least my ego was. Calling my name I rushed up
the aisle, and then hitting the steps-literally as when I hit them, I tripped,
sliding onto the stage, and the whole school broke out in applause and
laughter. One step had taken me from cool co-captain to village idiot. Pride
had gotten the best of me, and although long ago I lost the award, I still have
the memory. And the two left feet. Trust me when I say when I got called up
again I walked slowly, and deliberately, with the whole assembly being
disappointed with no encore act to follow. A stage in life that was maybe not
life changing, but memorable. Remember Mohn from freshman basketball, set
records for rebounds, yeah the one who tripped during the assembly...yeah, that
one. And I still walk stairs very carefully today, somehow that ninth grade
assembly haunts me.
Another stage in life was to be more memorable, and less embarrassing was
when BH and I attended an outdoor concert, with Alice Cooper being the
headliner. In an old stadium, we had met some girls, who must have been
desparate for attention, and who also had backstage passes, which got us onto
the stage during the show. Welcome to my Nightmare was the theme, based on his
hit at the time, shades of my last stage performance lurking in the shadows.
But here we were on stage, stage right, with these two girls on our shoulders,
dancing, some 20 feet from Alice, who looked over at me once, exhausted, and I
gave him a smile, and he smiled back, acknowledging me. Here I am a rock
star-or at least on stage with one. But as the show ended, too soon as all good
times do, we had been talking to a young boy, about 10, who was named Billy.
When the weight of the girls got to be too much, we visited with him, they had
introduced him to us. His dad was the drummer in the band, and when he looked
over at Billy, Billy would smile back, a great expression of love between a
father and a son. But as the concert ended, and we were forced to leave the
stage, the girls too were gone, and BH and I were faced with the long walk on
hot Jersey evening back to my van, parked over a mile away. Walking with crowd,
shuffling along is more accurate, every once in a while a vehicle would try to
pass through, and the crowd would split, allowing them through. When one long,
black limo can next, we moved, and the window rolled down, with Billy inside.
“Hey guys, want a ride?” Do Harleys vibrate? Do Triumphs leak oil? You have
to ask? And the limo stopped, the door opened, and we climbed in the back, with
the band, and some family members. I can’t remember the conversation, but
Billy’s dad thanked us for being nice to his son, and I remember Alice passed
out leaning against the door, we took the ride, we’ll pass on the nightmare.
And we got dropped off at our van, in front of a crowd of Alice Copper
worshippers, and I never fell! Of course if there had been some steps, but no,
we won’t go there. And in all the excitement we never got the girls’
number!
So between learning to crawl, falling up steps, and riding with
rock stars, you too will experience some memorable events. Some you may want to
forget, but one I never will is the night running on the beach in Santa Monica,
where John shared Jesus with me. I was no bad dude, although I had friends who
were, and when he kept talking about Jesus, I finally told him, “shut up or I’ll
put you in the hospital.” I must have been convincing because he did, but the
seed had been sown, and the hook set. And just as I had fallen up stage, danced
on stage, and walked off stage, a new stage in my life, one as a Christian was
about to begin. And I was about to be on stage, for all to see, a witness of
Jesus Christ, and the whole world would be watching. And although they may be
watching me, waiting for me to trip and fall, again and again, my new life was
all about Jesus. And to live my life as a witness of Him, and how He changed my
life. Not to go out witnessing, but to be a witness, 24/7, even when no one was
looking, or so I thought. In Christ I have learned to be prepared in season and
out, and even when I ‘m not, how He will give me the words I need. Not my own,
but His, so I can concentrate more on my walk rather than tripping and falling.
Where one afternoon at Hollister I was talking with two Boozefighters, Bill and
JQ, both national officers. JQ was glad to see a Christian, as he had a
question for me. “Can God make a rock so big He cannot lift it?” With all my
theological juices flowing, I was gonna dazzle him, but the words that came out
weren’t mine, and they were the right answer. “You don’t ask God stupid
questions like that.” And when JQ answered he liked that, and would share it
with others, I had seen the Holy spirit guiding my footsteps, and my words.
Keeping me from falling, on the stage He had prepared for me that day.
You’re gonna trip and fall, that’s life. But Jesus is there to
pick you up. He is the humility of falling before man, He is being on stage,
and being the center of attention, and He is there when you can’t find the
words. He is there! As you walk out the door this morning, your stage awaits
you. Take Jesus with you. Not all crowds are friendly, not all reviewers
kind. I have seen Welcome to My Nightmare first hand, and given the choice, I
rather see God’s mercies. I have been on stage, off stage, fell on the stage,
and been kicked off stage. Looking back, it may be hard to look ahead. I’m
glad Jesus has set the stage for my life, and one day that stage will be
heaven. Until then, be the witness He has called you to be. The next person
you meet may need to hear about Jesus, or be shown His love. He may need
something as simple as a ride, or a hand up. Either way, Jesus will be there.
A stage in my life I never want to forget...the show will go on! As for Alice,
I hear he play a lot of golf, the nightmares continue.
love with compassion,
Mike
matthew25biker.blogspot.com