The World of Dragonfly

As they say in the South, I’ve gone done lost my mind.  Well, not really.  That just sounds kind of cool to say and can leave non-southerners scratching their heads.  Anyway, some people make think that.  You see, I’ve signed up for a triathlon.

Now let me explain.  I like to work out.  And yes, I don’t mind sweating.  But the problem is that lately it’s become easier to rationalize not going to the gym.  Excuses such as “It’s too hot” or “I got out from work too late”  or “I just don’t feel like going” have gotten to be way too commonplace for me.  And because of that, I hadn’t worked out for almost two weeks.

Also, my husband has gotten back into doing triathlons after about a 20-year hiatus.  Three weeks ago, he ran the Bandits Triathlon up in Wilkesboro, NC.  For those of y’all not familiar with the great state of North Carolina, that’s up toward the northwestern part and getting into the mountains.  We left from Winston-Salem, where we’d overnighted.  We got up at 4:45 and left by 5:15–and that’s AM and not PM.  The energy when we got up there was infectious.  And it was cool, the mid 50’s to be exact, and all of the triathletes were more than ready to get into the 80 or so degree water.  What with the crowds gathering, the milling around of people, and the loud music playing at 6:30 in the morning, the energy just started zinging around.

That got me to thinking, “Well, maybe next year I’ll do one.”  Then Hubby egged me into signing up for one in two weeks.  Okay.  So it’s not international distance (almost a mile swim, 20-something mile bike, 10k run) or even spring (half that distance), but it’s a good, solid start.  It’s called Dash for Divas and has been billed as a way to get women interested in the sport since it’s for women only.  It’s a 250-yard swim, 7-mile bike, 2-mile run.  Short, I know.  But hey, I’d already done those things separately, so why not string them together?

I did just that yesterday as a test run, just to make sure I could do the whole thing.  Boy, the adrenaline was pumping in my body!  I fumbled a bit getting ready to start.  But then I did.  Of course, I started out too fast and had to order myself to slow a little on the swim.  Then came the transition to the bike.  That went well.  Then came the run.  Ouch!  My leg muscles had been so used to the bike that the transition was a little on the difficult side.  But I did it.  I know I can do it.

So what’s going to drive me to finish this?

• I know I can.
• I’ve got an encourager since one of my friends is going to do it with me.
• I’ve got groupies.  My husband will be there and also my friend’s husband.
• It’ll be fun.  Okay.  So a different, weird kind of fun.
• It’ll be a start to something bigger.

You see, I’m hooked.   While I may not have the body of a cheetah or move like one, I think I’m going to actually enjoy this.  So in two weeks, I’ll drag myself out of bed, most likely at 4:45 AM and head out to do what I once thought was impossible.  And that will be my reward.

Who is a hero? I think we all have definitions of who they are. Most of us can readily identify a hero as someone on the battlefield who saves the lives of his comrades by paying the ultimate price. To some, a hero may be a superstar in a sport like basketball or football. Or someone who saves a life such as a fireman or a doctor. Yes, all of these people are heroes in their own ways. But I think that too often we have heroes right in our vicinity and don’t even realize it.

One of my heroes is my mom. For years, she’s known that she’s needed to have knee replacement surgery. You see, she likes to be active. To keep that quality of life that she so desires, she finally decided to go ahead and have one of her knees replaced.

The surgery went well. But as her doctor said, the surgery was the easy part. The rehab to get the knee functioning again has been the hard part. She’s had a lot of pain, as is expected. A whole lot. A lot more than most people can imagine. She’s also had to spend lots of time with a device called a passive motion device, which meant many hours lying on her back and letting the machine do its work. She’s endured physical therapy, which as many of your physical therapy veterans may know, is no walk in the park. Now it’s starting to pay off. She can see the light of the tunnel because the pain is finally beginning to diminish, and little glimmers of how her knee will be when it is completely healed are beginning to show.

I’m proud of her. She’s a quiet hero. She knew what she wanted, and she knew it would be tough. But she’s not given up. She’s stayed on course with her therapy, and soon, her life will be better.

So look around you. Who are the quiet heroes in your midst? The ones who are enduring under tough circumstances? The ones who are facing incredible odds? Maybe it’s the neighbor who’s the single mom with two small children. Or someone you know who’s battling cancer. Or maybe it’s someone who’s finally beat an addiction. Whoever they are, like the heroes who are obvious, they won’t brag about their valor. Instead, they’ll live their lives as they are–the quiet heroes.

I admit it.  I have a hard time memorizing Scripture.  A really hard time.  Give me a number to memorize, no problem.  For example, until about 10 years ago, I still remembered my locker combination from junior high.  I have my bank account number memorized as well as my charge card number.  That one makes my husband a little nervous.

So yes, I have a harder time with words.  Tell me your name, and I forget it just a few minutes later.  Or, if I haven’t seen you in awhile, I’m likely to stand there and fumble around for it until you look at me as if I’ve lost my marbles.  I’m sure it has something to do with the way my brain is wired.  Maybe that’s why I was a physics major with a concentration in applied mathematics.  But I still love to write.  Go figure.

Back to my original topic.  This past summer, the pastor at my church, Peace Church, issued a challenge to the congregation.  If a certain number of people memorized Psalm 19, then the September fellowship dinner would be catered.  Never one to pass up a challenge or turn down a free meal, I decided I’d do it.  But of course, being one to procrastinate, I needed a swift kick in the pants that came in the form of Ladies Weekend at the beach.  One of my friends brought copies of Psalm 19, and so began the memorization.

But then I went back to the reality of work and my crazy life, and once more I decided to procrastinate.  Still, God wouldn’t let me go.  He kept on tapping on the shoulder of my spirit and quietly reminding me of the commitment I’d made to myself.  So after a lot of moaning on my part, I finally buckled down.

It was still hard.  Like I said, I’m a numbers person.  At first, nothing sank through my skull.  The words were a mystery to me, like they were written in a different language.  I wanted to stop with the reasoning that some other folks would memorize it, and it wasn’t my responsibility.  But gradually, I began yielding.  Not only did I just try to memorize the words, but I pondered the meaning of them.  What was God trying to teach me?  What was He trying to impress upon me?  And while I cleaned that weekend, I kept dropping by my Bible and taking a peek at Psalm 19.  It took awhile, but I finally memorized.

So what did I learn from Psalm 19?  First, God is a magnificent creator.  “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky proclaims His handiwork.”  (Don’t ask me verse numbers.  It was enough to memorize words.)  How true is that!  I also learned that God’s word is indeed going throughout the earth.  “Their [words] go out through the earth, and their words to the ends of the world.”  Also, the middle part of the psalm goes through the characteristics of God.  “The law of the Lord is perfect . . . The testimony of the Lord is sure . . . The commandment of the Lord is pure . . . The fear of the Lord is clean . . . The rules of the Lord are true . . .”  Wow!  And finally, “Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins.”  I pondered that one for a long time and essentially realized that presumptions I make about the way my life should look like can easily cause me to drift into sin if I’m not careful.

Okay.  So now I realize that yes, Virginia, I too can memorize scripture.  Not only that, but I can delve into it.  Ponder it.  Learn from it.  I’m now much more motivated.  And not by food.  But hey, the free meal doesn’t hurt either.