Shots On Goal

Watching Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals last night (and early this morning) I was blown away all over again at how much life resembles professional hockey.  

You go from one end of the arena to the other as fast as you can on very thin ice.  On that circuitous journey (in a finite space you can never leave until the game is over), 70% of the time you get slammed into the boards, 20% of the time you get knocked to the ground and stomped on, 8% of the time you get a sharp object in the middle of your back, and just under 2% of the time you actually get your face pushed in.  But oh, that little sliver of reality where for a fraction of a second you break free of the pack, just long enough to get a clean look at the goal, you lock on your target, get some solid stick on the puck and light it up...that's what the game is all about!  

Shots on goal.  All the work, the endless repetitions, the long hours, the late nights, the relational sacrifices, the mind-numbing boredom of training, the physical exhaustion of the trips up and down the ice; the elbows to the bread basket, the knees below the belt, and the flat-out beatings you subject yourself too, just to get a shot on goal.  'Cause if you don't get it close, it ain't goin' in.  I love watching hockey and doing ministry!  

Throw an elbow at hell and put some shots on goal this week!  Invite someone to the Annex who doesn't already go to church. Hey, you can't score if you don't take the shot, right?  Don't worry about them saying, "No".  Just keep inviting.  Rejection is part of the game.  But don't quit.  Remember, the prettiest smiles are on the bench!