Bowling with Joel

God can use anything to teach us. This morning, God used bowling to speak to me. Well, not bowling itself, but bowling with Joel.

Joel loves to go bowling. We normally go with Grandpa, my friend Rick, and sometimes include Joel’s friends Caleb or Elijah. Joel gets so excited. But, I know my son. He gets bored with bowling after one game, and wants to go play video games. While the adults bowl a second and third game, Joel is eating cheese sticks and playing games.

Joel’s actions at the bowling alley remind me of my relationship with God. I will ask God for something, but after I get it, I don’t really want it that bad. I get bored with it. Then, it is on to something else that I tell God I must have to be happy.

Over the past year, I have been working hard to lose weight. But, I am a single parent. I don’t have time to get to a gym, and money is tight. So, I decided that a Wii Active was what I needed. I just knew that it would solve my dilemma. I would get in better shape at home, and that would make me happy.

I prayed about it, because 60 dollars is a lot of money for me right now. One day during lunch, I walked into Kmart. They had one that someone had opened the box on. Everything was there, but the seal on the box had been broken. They were selling it for $40. That is less than 2 months of a gym membership.

I grabbed it, and couldn’t wait to get home and try it out. It is a surprisingly good workout. After just a few weeks, I have noticed some differences in my posture, and in how my clothes fit. It is doing exactly what I thought it would with one exception, it isn’t making me happy.

Last night, I knew I needed to work out, but I just didn’t feel like it. I looked at the Wii Active box, and groaned. The very thing that I thought would bring bliss was bringing me pain. The kicker is that it is good for me. I got the cd out of the box, loaded it in the Wii, and did my workout. But, it didn’t make me happy. I felt better, physically and emotionally, but I wasn't any happier.

I found myself looking at weights in Wal-Mart, this weekend. The luster of the Wii Active was already wearing off. I just knew that what I need is some heavier weights to help build more muscle.

Am I really that different from my son? Do I not ask God for something, get bored with it, and then ask for something else?

Nothing in this world can make me happy. I was married, but that relationship couldn’t make me happy. No person can be responsible for our happiness. That is the problem with many marriages. We go into the relationship expecting that other person to make us happy.

We have no right to put that level of responsibility on another person. They can’t do it. They will disappoint us. The right marriage partner can make life better, but they can’t make us happy.

The only one thing in this world that can bring true happiness is a relationship with Jesus Christ. I have that relationship, but I am not always happy. I let things of this world get my eyes off of Christ. The struggles of daily life get me down.

I thank God that he doesn’t decide that I am just too fickle, and toss me aside.

My relationship with Joel is helping me to realize more how God can love me, despite my human nature.

I know, before we get to the bowling alley, that Joel will get bored with bowling after one game. I know that he will want to get junk food, and play video games. It is who he is. So, when he asks to go play games, I am already prepared for it.

I sometimes wish that Joel would mature a little more, and stick with the group. I find myself wanting him to bowl all three games with us, and be part of the group. But, I know he is autistic, and group social interaction is draining to him. So, I make him bowl one game, and then let him go play video games.

There is one thing that I can count on from Joel. He will always come back to me. Sometimes it is because he ran out of money for the games. But, even when he still has money in his pocket, he will walk over to me, give me a hug, and tell me he loves me. Then, he will run off to play more.

God knows that things around me will catch my attention. He even knows that I can be fickle in my desires. But, God knows that I love Him. He knows that I will occasionally stop all my activity, and express my love for Him.

He is also working in my life to bring about maturity. God is using simple things, like bowling with Joel, to teach me and help me grow.

I pray that I learn these lessons, and begin to see life through His eternal perspective, rather than my own temporal perspective. I pray that I learn to love God first and foremost in my thoughts and actions. I want to demonstrate my love for Him in all that I do, and be more in love with Him than the things of this world.

I pray that God continues to use simple things, like bowling with my son, to teach me eternal truths.