Have you ever done something and not known that you did it? I’m talking no clue. Or maybe there was one.
Not many people know this, but my parents were talented bowlers. They not only bowled in a league, but their team won the championship one year. When I went to the bowling alley with them, I would bowl with the other kids. Most of them there were good bowlers. I bet you’re thinking: “I can see that since their parents bowl too.” Unfortunately, that didn’t apply to me. As we say around here: “I couldn’t bowl my way out of a paper bag.”
Even though I tried to aim the ball, I never knew where it was going to roll to when I slung it down the bowling lane. Once in a great while, I would get lucky and bowl a strike, but usually, it rolled into the gutter. Some of the kids tried to help me. It didn’t work. My dad tried to help me. It didn’t work either. He often said that I had a “wild arm.” Finally, I gave up on trying to improve my bowling ability. Whenever it was my turn, I would walk up to the line, throw the ball, and then head back to the machine that returned it. In my mind, it didn’t matter anymore.
Then came the day my best friend and cousin Lynda invited me to go bowling with the youth from her church. By the way, it’s my church too now. Anyway, I only went along to have some fun. I remember throwing the ball down the bowling lane and walking back down to my friend. As I did, I said, “My arm is so sore. It usually is when I bowl.” The expression on this one girl’s face was priceless. It was a mixture of humor and surprise. She said to me, “Well, I guess so. You aren’t just rolling the ball; you’re throwing it very hard down the lane.”
I was stunned at the new revelation for a few seconds. I had never realized I was throwing the bowling ball so hard. You see, I had played softball for years. During that time, I had been trained to throw the softball as hard as I could. It had become so ingrained in my mind that I was also throwing the bowling ball with all my might. That explained why my arm hurt so much when I bowled. I was throwing at least 6 pounds of heavy weight. That also hampered my ability to control where the bowling ball rolled.
After I got over my bowling shock, I got to thinking about it. None of those who had helped me, including my dad, noticed how hard I was throwing the ball. Maybe if I had said something then about my arm hurting, it would have opened their eyes to it.
“Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.” Psalm 199:18 (KJV)
Obviously, I had no idea of what I was really doing. I dare say there are probably many things that each of us has our eyes closed to. What if we prayed every day for the Lord to open them? If He did, we would be amazed at what we could learn from reading His word. We would also become more aware of how to help others to see His goodness and want to be a part of His kingdom. It’s something to think about.
The good thing out of this is the fact that I have a very strong right arm. Maybe I should take up arm-wrestling.
Brooke Cox is an author, speaker, and storyteller. She was a 2016 Selah Awards Finalist for Debut Novel. Her children’s book: “Dinosaur Eggs,” is now available. It is based on Ephesians 6: The Armor of God. Her novel “Until the Moon Rises: A Conniving Cousin Mystery” is also available. Also, she has two books out in her storytelling series: “Saucy Southern Stories.” The Amazon links for her books may be found on her website: brookecoxstories.com. Please feel free to contact her. She would love to hear from you.