An excerpt from my life story---The minibike

Although I can’t blame any Eddies’, I seemed to have my fair share of mishaps. My earliest recollection (I was probably about 7 years old) of such, was at the home of some of my parents’ friends. I do not remember their name, nor where they lived, but I can vividly recall the lay of the land and the look of the home. I also remember that they had at least two children. A girl who was much older than I and a son who was just a little bit my elder. This boy had a minibike.
Where I grew up, in a neighborhood, there was little knowledge of any type of motorized transportation designed for kids. Where I grew up if you didn’t push, pull or peddle it…it didn’t move. But these folks lived in the country with acreage enough to allow children to crash their motorized toys without fear of concrete casualties. A minibike is simply a very small motorcycle-like contraption usually powered by nothing more than a five horsepower motor. It doesn’t go very fast. It sits low to the ground and has a wide, cushioned seat to help aid in the balancing act performed by a little fellow as he blazes trails through the pasture.
At one of our visits to this home, the parents had all gone inside and left us kids to our own time of playing in the yard. The boy who lived here decided he would ride his minibike. So he did. Around and around the yard he went. I sat patiently and wondered if he would ever invite me to take a turn on his wonderful, motorized toy. Eventually, he pulled up next to where I was standing and asked me if I would like to take a ride. (I must at this point in my storytelling, make a confession. One of my greatest faults, which has existed since my childhood and still haunts me as an adult, is my inability to admit that I do not know how to do something. I will try to accomplish almost anything, even though I have no idea what I am doing. I guess this helps explain my fair share of mishaps). So there I stand, with an open invitation to take the reins of this motorized vehicle and head down the open trail.
So I accept the invitation. The owner steps off of the minibike and allows me to take control. I throw one leg over and plant my bottom firmly on the wide, cushioned seat. I am given instructions about the brake and throttle. The brake is simple a lever next to the left handgrip. All one has to do is extend the fingers from the grip and pull back the lever. The minbike stops. The throttle is a typical motorcycle-style throttle. To go, the rider just rotates the right grip in a backward motion. The further he rotates the grip, the faster the minibike goes. Simple enough.
So I nod, as does an F-16 pilot who has just given the deck crew permission to catapult his jet off of the deck of an aircraft carrier. I loosen the grip of my fingers holding the brake, and I increase the torque of my right wrist. Away I went. What an experience of liberation and power…for about 15 seconds. That’s when I hit my first bump in the trail. It probably wasn’t a huge hole, but it was sufficient enough to cause my right hand to increase torque beyond that which was wise. The rapid increase in speed threw my bottom of off the minibike, leaving me hanging on to both grips with all my might. My belly is on the seat, the throttle is wide open, and this demon machine is dragging me wherever it wants. Remember I made mention of how agile I was? I don’t know what the world record distance is for riding a minibike this way, but I must have come close. Eventually, the possessed vehicle did win, but only after dragging its passenger through a barbed wire fence and coming to rest in the middle of a tomato patch. This is where my parents found and rescued me. Even though I made several requests, my dad never would buy me a minibike. I wonder why?

Do You Want It?

I am not God. I do not know everything nor do I pretend to.

Not being God, I do not know other people's thoughts. I do not understand all the ways that the sin nature, outside influences and life experiences have molded their thought process. But I have observed that most people are as adults very similar to what they were as children.

The very outgoing child produces an outgoing adult. The very shy child produces a shy adult. Now I know that there are variants, but for the most part, this is the pattern. Those who were outgoing children, the ones who are not afraid to perform in front of an audience, are adults who have no or little trouble standing before others. Those who were very timid as children, still find it very difficult to have all eyes focused on them and their performance.

The insecure child that found his self-worth in bossing around others grows into the adult who is happy with nothing less than complete control of the situation. The weak spirited child who was controlled by others grows to be the adult who is everyone's doormat, constantly being stepped on.

Now I do know this, the Lord can change anyone. But the choice of change belongs to the individual. Many people foolishly believe that if a person just prays for change that God will miraculously alter your mind so that you become that which you desire. But this is not true.

There exist no deficiency in your character that is stronger than God's ability to alter it. Yes, God could take over and make you become that for which you long. But then you would cease to exist as you are. You would no longer be the creature that has absolute free choice, but you will have become a pawn in the hand of God. Every time you would make an unprofitable move, God would just slide you over where you belong.

If you want to alter your thoughts and your character you are going to have to work at it. The commitment you made 10 years ago is no good unless you have been working for the last 10 years to make it happen. The natural course is already set. You have been this way since you were a child. It comes easy. The vision you may have for yourself is going to take work to attain.

This is the difficult part because the nature of man is lazy. It is always easier to choose the path of least resistance. Staying the way you have always been is not going to take any effort. Just sit back and enjoy the ride. But if you really want to change, it is possible. There is nothing to keep you from being who you want to be, except for you.

One day during wrestling practice our coach was driving us hard. I had quit exercising because I was exhausted. The coach in his challenge towards perfection hollered "Do you want it Wilkes?".
"Yes Sir!" I responded as I restarted the workout. But it wasn't long before I had quit again.
"Do you want it Wilkes?" the coach barked at me as though my weakness was frustrating him.
"Yes Sir", I barked back at him with anger in my tone as my body starting resuming its duties. But soon thereafter I collapsed. I was convinced I could go no farther.
"Do you want it Wilkes?" the coach bellowed as though my exhaustion was the most offensive thing he had ever witnessed.
"No Sir", I replied with a smugness typical of a 16 year old.
"Finally the truth", he responded.

Do want to change? Quit quitting!!!!!

Politicians, Power and Invertebrates

If my memory serves me right, I was taught that an animal that lacked a spine is called an invertebrate. The older I get, the more I believe that most politicians fall into this category. Having never been elected by my fellow citizens, I do not know exactly how, or why, this transformation takes place. But it does! When one is looking for a vote his spine is as rigid as an oak plank, but as soon as he realizes he has won, he donates his oak plank to the nearest furniture mill. He’s not going to need it anymore, he’s a politician.

Once his lungs grow accustomed to the air of power that his elected position provides, his only concern is making sure that his lungs get their fix. What a rush it must be! I say that because most will abandon truth, their principles and sometimes even decency to assure that their future as a power-inhaling, elected official is secure.

My, oh my, how our day cries out for men of integrity. People who will do what is right, even it if means they may not be re-elected. I am not talking about disregarding the will of their constituents. I am talking about making courageous choices in challenging times. Doing what is right.