So just to get it out there and clarify things, I’m not a pool player by any stretch of the imagination. Don’t get me wrong; I know the basics. But, I haven’t played the game since 1998 and sometimes athleticism is just not transferrable between sports. I’ve graced a pool table the number of times I can count on my hand. I’m the girl usually chasing the ball as it rolls down the floor to the bathroom. I somehow launch it over the table as spectators squat like ducks, hands over head, and by this I mean not in the form of worship. I get a little over zealous and think more hockey stick, less pool cue. It’s a detailed, calculated sport, and I much prefer the physical, broad strokes. Endurance, pushing limits, sweating.
But, over the past few years I’ve found myself referring to a pool analogy, of all things, to describe being “on my game”. That is, on my game, in this game of life and it is summed up in three small words:
In the pocket.
Know what I mean?
Your bank account is balanced. You fridge is full. Your relationships are intact. Your laundry folded. Your future direction, clear. You feel content and find yourself mid-step, lips turned up, feeling but for a moment that all is right with the world. That’s when you’re in the pocket.
It happens to me about 5 times a year. And then, alas, I get rear ended in traffic. I make a mistake at work. I upset a friend. I lose something important. My patience is tested. I feel irritated. And like bambi, falling flat on all fours, I am more often than not, picking my face up off the ground. Dusting myself off. Lifting my chin up a little bit higher. Again. Striving towards the next moment of pocket dwelling.
The thing about pocket dwelling is it can become addictive. I will feel better when....Life will be good if....and as we wait to sink our next ball, we are missing out on the beauty of the game itself.
My favorite scripture story that has stood the test of time in my walk with God has been about a woman who was probably also not very good at pool. It, for me, is the most beautiful, resonating story in all of the bible because 1) it's about a woman and 2) it's about a desperate woman who has played the game of life and grown very weary and very tired of the whole charade. I imagine she is tired of pocket chasing. And she too, has missed her shot completely, or is also chasing her ball on it's way to the bathroom.
The woman, who goes unnamed, has been suffering for many years. Twelve to be exact. She has been hemorraging, and has exhausted all options for being healthy again. She has lost her wealth, her patience, and I would imagine, her dignity. And she sees him in a crowd. She falls at her feet. And, in desperation and total humility, she touches his robe. Jesus turns in the crowd and asks who it was that touched him. With reluctance and great fear, the woman speaks up, bowing before who she believes will save her, replaying the story of her suffering and heartache. How she feels out of the pocket. And he tells her this: "Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace. You have been healed." Mark 5:34
When I have my out of pocket experiences, which is often, I feel like that woman, on her knees, face in dirt, desperate, holding on to my saviors cloak. And he replies faithfully, "daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace. You have been healed". It is then that I can hang my pool cue up and leave the hall.
beautiful and real
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