HANG IN THERE!!!

A cartoon drawing made its way to my desk many years ago that defines perseverance. This particular cartoon swept through fax machines all over the country for quite a while during the early 90's.

It took me a while, but I finally obtained another copy of it on the internet and have attached it here as a reminder to us all to HANG IN THERE! It is a cartoon of a large marsh bird standing at the edge of a pond. The bird has recently scooped up a frog. The frog's hind legs are shown hanging out of the bird's beak.

The bird has quite a startled look on his face. His eyes look like they are about to pop out. Why? Because the frog, despite being half-swallowed, has managed to get a death grip on the bird's throat with his front froggy-legs.

The message at the bottom of the drawing reads, "It ain't over till it's over!"

Someone needs to be reminded of that today. Either you or someone you know has received some bad news. Possibly even devastating news. Life has hit hard. Some unwelcomed thing has waded into your pond, snuck up on you, and scooped you up without warning.

Someone else needs to be reminded of the death-grip frog for a different reason. Not because of bad news, but because of bad judgment. You blew it. Or someone you know has. For whatever reason, you (or they) defied God's Word, ran right through a holy barricade, and right into trouble. Ugh.

I know how you feel. I've been both "someone's." I have had bad news and used bad judgment in my life, but I have good news for you. There is life after Ugh. Failure isn't final. Bad news does not mean "The End." Just the beginning of a new chapter...as long as you turn yourself completely over to the Author of Life.

Take who you are and what you have and give it to God. Surrender it all to Him. Are you angry? It's okay. He's a big God. He can handle it. Take it to Him. Are you depressed? He's quite the Comforter and Healer. Are you lost? He's not. He not only knows where He's going, He knows the way for you, as well. He has a path and a plan for your life. Give yourself to Him.

"Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain" (1st Corinthians 15:58, NIV).

Paul wrote those words to encourage his fellow believers to have the kind of faith that hangs on, tightens its grip, and stays strong. Paul was a lot like that frog. Life tried to swallow and silence Paul over and over again, but he held on. May the determination of an apostle and an amphibian inspire us today.

Be encouraged by the Apostle Paul and the half-swallowed frog. Hang in there! Tighten your grip. It isn't over yet!

Offering the marsh bird a glass of water...
since he obviously has a...
frog in his throat.
I know, I know...boo hiss...

Perry Crisp

Gainer or Loser?

A "gainer" is a type of dive in which the diver does a backwards flip while his body is going forward. The diver faces the water, springs forward off the diving board, and the movement of his body continues progressing forward. Yet, while moving forward in the air, the diver reverses his momentum, causing his body to do a back flip while progressing forward.

The only difficult part of this maneuver is convincing your mind that such a thing makes sense. Of course, there is also the "trial and error" period that can be painful until the dive is perfected.

I have seen people try this dive who were over-anxious about getting the back flip motion going a millisecond after their toes left the board instead of waiting until they got to the top of their jump. Ouch! Tossing your head back too soon before clearing the diving board area can give you a nasty headache.

The other mistake I have seen people make is freezing up or losing their bearings before they finish the backward rotation. Ouch again! Faces, bellies, and backs make an awful popping noise when they hit the water like a bulldog chasing a parked car. Side effects include redness, occasional swelling, a serious stinging sensation, laughter from the pool rats, and momentary embarrassment.

My advice? 1) Wear a shirt and a ski mask until you get the gainer perfected. 2) Learn this dive when you're young. Adults, don't try this at home.

My daughter was surprised to see her 47-year-old dad do a gainer the other day. I wasn't suprised that I could do the gainer. I was more concerned about my ancient knees cooperating at the impact of the bounce. But the springiness...springyness...oy... (I feel the need to introduce a new word). But the sprength of the limber diving board took a great deal of pressure off my old-man knees and I got the bounce I needed.

I felt like a kid again!

A gainer at a swimming pool is to be celebrated. But what about when a Christian or a church does a gainer? What do we do when we are moving forward in Christ and the momentum of the Holy Spirit of God is launching us unto new heights, and we foolishly give in to the temptation to reverse our motion?

It is a guarantee that every time a believer or body of believers is making great leaps of spiritual progress, the enemy gets busy in an effort to stop or slow down the progress. He pulls out all the stops. He whispers doubt into the heart and pride into the head to convince us to reverse our motion.

When the devil is successful in convincing us to gainer, we end up a loser. A messy "splat" is heard and felt. It is heart-wrenching.

Observers sit poolside and turn to one another in confusion, "What are they doing? They were going in the right direction. Why did they stop? Why did they try to go back?"

God's people have always struggled with this. A few days after the Israelites were delivered from the bondage of 400 years of slavery to the Egyptians, gainer-whining could be heard among the masses. In nasal-sounding tones that are reminiscent of (other people's) kids in the back seat of the family car, the Israelites whined, "We want to go ba-a-a-ack to Egypt."

Those sitting by the Red Sea pool leaned toward one another and said, "They want to go back? God just set them free from slavery and is leading them to the Promised Land --- and they want to go back?"

We do. We all do. We gainer from time to time. But what do we do when our gainer leaves us feeling like a loser? We go back to the sprength of the One who lifted us before! His grace and forgiveness heals the pain of our splat.

Christianity is a second-chance sport. Failure isn't final. "One-and-done" isn't the way God operates.

Come on in...the water's fine.
Perry Crisp