"The Reason Why There's No Post This Week" Post

I don't have a spiritual point to make today. I apologize for that. I offer this post as a "reason why there's no post this week" post instead. Enjoy.


Two weeks ago I hurt my back. I didn't really do anything to cause it to go out, it's just one of those things that happens when you're my age, I guess. Usually when my back goes out, I fall into a precise pattern of behavior. It hurts, so I rest it. It starts to feel a little better after a day or two, so I assume it's all fine and return to my usual activities. I push it too far too fast and, wham, it ends up going out again and we start the process over.

After a couple rounds of that through the last few weeks, I really thought i was over the hump. It had not hurt for several days. I believed I had full range of motion back. I decide it's time to test it out on the golf course.

The Missouri district pastors had an "Advance" this week out at Pinecrest campground. One of the activities was a scramble -- you're divided up into a four man team and play "best ball" to shoot the lowest score possible for your team. My round started out awful. No matter what I tried, I couldn't keep from topping the golf ball and hitting a little dribbler down the fairway. While I'm not a golf pro, I'm usually much better than that. It was almost like my back wasn't allowing me to take a normal swing.

That, in the middle of intense pastoral competition, was completely unacceptable.

On the 7th hole, I decide that enough was enough. I concentrate on staying in my slot and forcing my body through the normal torque and rotation. I go back and swing down hard, keeping my form, locking my body into its often-practiced motion, and following through completely. The result was a gorgeous 240 yard 3-wood that sailed up into the air, fading ever so slightly, and dropping in the middle of the fairway.

While celebrating my mental victory over the limitations of my physical self, I felt my left arm get all tingly. A creeping yet vicious pain shot from the center of my spine, filling the left side of my back with the fire of a thousand suns. Breathing became a real issue. My eyes watered. Oh the pain! Oh the agony! Oh the joy of hitting a great shot!

A normal man -- even a smart man -- would stop right there and call it a round. No sir. Not me. This is competition, remember. It's war. It's not some friendly round with a bunch of pastor buddies. I. Must. Play. On.

Whatever God-given obstacle that kept my back from making a normal golf swing (and me feeling relatively pain-free) was ripped asunder. On my next shot, I pleasantly discovered that I had full range of motion back! Sure, every practice swing felt like someone was billy clubing my left ribs, but if I sucked up the pain, I could move without limitation. I see victory within our reach. I go after it!

I absolutely let it rip. I started hitting greens. I was peppering the fairway. I was chipping and putting well. I was awing my teammates (who were convinced I had hustled them for the first 6 holes). I was downing Tylenol like they were Smarties. At one point I think I passed out for a few holes. It was fantastic!

We added up the scores at the end of the round and my team won, with a not-very-impressive 3-under par -- all of which came after my back, as one team man put it, "loosened up".

It was worth the effort, the pain, and the undiagnosed overdose on pain medications. We were the champions of the Pastor's Advance men's golf scramble! My performance will go down in history as one of the guttiest performances ever performed by a pastor trying to impress his pastor friends in order to win a meaningless competition with no prize except pride.

Sure, my back still hurts like you wouldn't believe. My neck is most comfortable when it's cocked at a 45 degree angle toward my left shoulder. My extremities still randomly twitch and spasm uncontrollably. But I'm not to complain about it. No sir! Not me! I know that what I suffer now, I suffer intentionally, having chosen several days of physical anguish over the agony of defeat at the hands of fellow pastors on the golf course.

So, that's why there's no post this week, and why, instead, you get a post about why there's no post. If you're looking for a spiritual or inspirational lesson... well, you'll have to find one in there yourself!