B-log

AWANA starts this week, and we are down to our youngest child’s final couple of years in the program. 

That’s my clumsy seque of introducing a fun memory:

(originally written 2/28/2007)

On Monday night, we participated in our church’s Upward Award celebration. And we did something a little different than what we normally do. We welcomed the Christian Wrestling Federation, and watched them beat the holy righteousness out of one another.

Despite the global popularity of “wrasslin,” I have never before been to anything like this. And a few days later, I don’t know exactly how I feel about “the show.” I will tell you that all three of my children totally got into it. Seeing Kelsi…little, meek, docile Kelsi…booing with both thumbs down was shocking and just a little concerning to me. They had a hoot of a time. And to their credit, the wrestlers did an effective job of captivating the crowd, consisting of hundreds of kids and their parents.

Now, for the entertaining part.

The “local legend” of the CWF, Tim Storm, unfortunately came out at the start of the evening in a large leg brace, hobbling in on crutches. Despite his long-held desire to wrestle in front of his home crowd, he was on the Physically Unable to Perform list. Because it was his home church, though, he called out a threesome of adversaries to ask them to “play nice.” The threesome responded by kicking his crutches out from under him and beating him mercilessly with them. Especially relentless was this behemoth of a masked baddy named Golgotha.

When Tim’s allies interceded the scheduled matches were underway. I don’t remember the names of all the other matches , but I do recall a Hillbilly duo going up against Golgotha again. And this masked giant proceeded to throw and otherwise harm this backwoods boys asunder with malicious intent. However, the CWF champion Angel sprung to their deliverance. And in rescuing them, he challenged Golgotha that they would finish the evening with a match, and if Angel won, Golgotha’s mask would be removed. The long mystery of Golgotha’s identity would be revealed.

Said match eventually took place. And since I don’t know any wrestling terminology, let me cut to the quick and tell you that Angel vanquished Golgotha. In the night’s highest drama, his masked was removed, revealing…

…yes, you guessed it…

Tim Storm.

The gasp in the audience was audible.

As if on cue.

So…now dissolve scene and cut to the ride home where Cotter and Daddy are discussing the night and son begins to “put together the pieces.”

Cotter: But Mr. Tim was in crutches and Golgotha was there too.

Me: That’s right. They pulled the ol’ Switcheroo on you.

Cotter: Huh?

Me: They had someone else be Golgotha while Tim acted hurt.

Cotter: OHHHH! (thinking) Who was Golgotha then?

Me: I don’t know. They needed someone about his size.

Cotter: Daddy?

Me: Yes?

Cotter: Just where were you when all this was going on?

Annnnd…SCENE.

I have to tell you that I relished the thought of my son thinking I moonlighted as a CWF wrestler, despite that Tim Storm has a few inches and more than a few pounds on this Pastor. So I played coy the rest of the way home. I had Cotter worked into a five-iron frenzy at the possibility that I bashed faces off the turnbuckle, without ever really saying as much. Cotter ran inside the house and immediately began cross-examining the rest of the family about my whereabouts during the evening.

Finally, Kaylyn…my sweet, sage oldest child….ended the speculation with this…

Kaylyn: Cotter, Daddy was not Golgotha. He would never wear tight shorts like that.

The argument was undeniable and my ruse was deflated. Which would have been fine. Except then, Cotter now saw all the holes in his flimsy logic, and then spent the rest of the evening declaring aloud all the reasons why I couldn’t have been Golgotha.

“I guess Daddy’s arms aren’t as big as Golgotha’s.”

“Daddy really doesn’t know how to box.”

“Daddy probably couldn’t pick up another guy over his head like that.”

“Daddy needs his glasses, and they wouldn’t fit under a mask.”

Ahhh…the screw was turned. What began as an escapade of manipulation and tomfoolery at my boy’s expense quickly devolved into me defending my history as a former tough guy who never lost a fight* but has now chosen a more gentle way through my faith in Christ.

*This statement is technically accurate, since family fights with older brothers do not count in an overall won/loss percentage. Nor do “cheap shots” when sixth-grade classmate Nicole kicked me in the groin for telling everyone I saw her french kiss her dog, thus dropping me in a breath-taking surprise. Oh, and thank you Scott, in high school, for not calling my bluff when you were bullying me, the freshman, for walking down “your” hallway, and I stood up to you. Not only did you allow me to keep my teeth by backing down when I showed my now-revealed-to-be-false bravado, but it also kept my fight club record pristine.

From my archives, dated 2/25/2004…

I’ve been pretty continually thanking God for last night answering our prayer to save Cotter. We’ve, as I mentioned before, prayed for his salvation ever since we knew he’d be a part of our family. My prayer has literally been, “Lord, please bring Cotter to salvation at a young age, so that he may live a long life of faith, knowing you and making you known.”

This morning I read a great quote found in the book Prayerwalking:

• Steve Hawthorne
  “As you pray with God’s heart, your prayers will begin to lock in on the completion of God’s purpose…

I’m in awe that God would provide us salvation. Last night, Cotter fell asleep wearing the biggest smile I have ever seen upon his face. This came after a wonderful conversation that will forever be one of the most precious of my life:

Cotter: What will I be in heaven?

Me: What do you mean?

Cotter: Will I be little, or grown up?

Me: I’m not sure…you’ll just ‘be.’

Cotter: I’ll just be “Cotter?”

Me: Right.

Cotter: Cool….Will I be able to play catch with Jesus?

Me: I’m sure He will be thrilled to play catch with you.

Cotter: I’ll want to be the Broncos. He can be the Jaguars.

Me: Will you let me play, too?

Cotter: Of course. You can be on my team….Daddy, is there a rainbow in heaven?

Me: The Bible says there is.

Cotter: Cool! What else is there in heaven?

Me: Well, The Bible says that there’s a giant tree in the middle of heaven, and a beautiful river that flows right through heaven. The streets are made of gold…It’s always bright and sunny…There’s no more nighttime, and you never get tired and you never go to sleep. And you are never sad.

Cotter: Can I climb the tree?

Me: You’d probably be able to do all the tree-climbing that you’ll want to.

Cotter: I love to climb trees.

Me: And you’ll get to live in a mansion…

Cotter: What’s a mansion?

Me: It’s a big, huge house that Jesus is making just for you!

Cotter: Is it bigger than our house?

Me: A lot bigger.

Cotter: Like a hundred and sixty times bigger?

Me: I don’t know, but it’s a lot bigger.

Cotter: Heaven sure sounds cool.

Me: Doesn’t it? I’m so glad we get to be there together…

Cotter: Me, too, Daddy. And Mommy and Kaylyn, too. And someday Kelsi will pray like I did tonight, and she’ll get to go to heaven, too.

Me: That’s our prayer, buddy. It’s time for sleep….

And as my son rolled to his stomach so I could have the privilege of scratching his back to induce slumber, I prayed a new prayer for him:

Lord, thank you for saving Cotter. Thank you for hearing my prayer. Lord, I’d ask now that you’d protect him from the enemy, protect him from the temptations of the world. Give him knowledge, discernment, and understanding that can only come from You. Use Him however you see fit to bring glory to yourself. Give me the strength to be satisfied and submissive to Your will in His life, and keep me from getting in the way of his spiritual growth. Help me be a father worthy of a son who belongs to You. Set him apart to be a boy and then a man who influences others, who impacts the culture and who radiates your love and truth to this lost and dying world. Please don’t let Cotter settle for anything less than your will, your plan. Keep him from compromise, so that You would be lifted up, through his faithfulness. Thank you for the miracle of redemption. Praise Your Name!

He has the unique ability to unintentionally cause laughter. Smart, witty, and congenial, he’s at ease in any crowd. Competitive in everything and already more athletically talented than I. My son is an apt student and devoted follower of Christ. 

Occasionally, God uses simple, special experiences to smack me upside the head in such a profound manner that couldn’t have been more effective if he used an actual rough-cut plank of wood against the back of the hard calcium cranial shell protecting my soft gooey insides with the fudgy thought-producing center.

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