I was already 4 months into my freshman year of high
school. My best friend and I both got
new jeans and jean jackets for the new school year. Mine was all black and his was all blue
denim. We were totally not cool, we were
freshmen. I was playing the violin in the
school orchestra and the only county youth orchestra. Pegged pants, neon laces, and Michael Jackson
were cool. I was a skateboarder and
towards the end of winter I went snowboarding for the first time and loved
it. I fell a bunch and by the way,
pegged pants are very hard to get off when they are soaking wet. Snowboarding was still outlawed on the California side of Lake Tahoe so we went to the Nevada side and also to Mt. Reba/Bear Valley.
I did well academically except for a science class. I had a crush on the teacher. There was a senior in the class too. She liked my skater hair cut and would flirt
with me all class period. I had zero
flirting skills so it was exciting and extremely frustrating at the same
time. I would go home and think up cool
things that I should have told her, but being hours too late to actually say
them. I should have been studying my
science instead.
That summer after freshman year I was racing my buddy
down a steep hill. I beat him, the got “speed-wobbles” and ate
it. I had so much road rash, I couldn’t
walk. I still have scars on my knees and
both sides of my hands from that fall. I
was also shaving my face regularly – some sort of Norwegian super beard
thing. I was a terrible shaver, I have a
huge scar on the side of my face to prove it.
I have to explain that dumb scar every time I get a new barber to cut my
hair. I started playing football (JV)
and started in all the preseason games. I played right guard. Then one day after learning “Ollie North”, I
was skating home and broke my left ankle trying to Ollie over a drainage
ditch. I was on crutches the rest of the
football season – physical therapy either wasn’t in vogue yet or it wasn’t part
of my Mom’s HMO. I’m still missing
ligaments in that ankle and there’s a dime-sized bone chip floating around in
there that locks up the joint from time-to-time.
My Dad was in and out of rehab during this time. I wish he
had been around to tell me how proud he is of me and how much he loves me. I really wish he would have taught me how to
shave or maybe how to talk to girls. He could
have helped me rehab my ankle and even given me some training pointers to make
me a better athlete. He should have
taken me to church so I could develop an “eternal perspective” on life and not
be so anxious about being cool or fitting in with my peers.
It was during this time that I began to develop the
philosophy that I would be a good man if I was the opposite of my Dad. If you know me, you might see how that didn’t
work out well for me. If you really know
me, then you know how hard I tried to follow hat on my own. If you know me now, you’ll know I am never
alone anymore – Jesus is with me and I also have a good relationship with my
dad. We have an eternal perspective that
can see beyond our failings big and small.
If I could give that special, loved 14 year old any advice
then I would start with Jesus and the Bible.
Faith comes by hearing the word of God, so go to church and be motivated
to develop and eternal perspective of your own.
Don’t just go through the motions.
Read and study the Bible a little bit every single day. Do it first thing every morning and
night. Talk about anything you
want. You do this and you won’t have to
worry about girls or peers. Study to get
all A’s. Public school is super
easy. If you have anything less than an
A, just ask your teacher what you can do to bring it up or how to get an
A. They are there because they enjoy
helping kids learn. As for athletics
goes, read the book “Supple Leopard.” It’s
a weird title, but it is amazing. It
would help in football, running, skateboarding, snowboarding, you name it. You’re young, so learn to push yourself
harder while you still can. Life is all
about experiences, but it’s also the on-ramp to eternity, don’t get lost in the
worldly, fleshly things and miss out on the eternal.
I love you, buddy.
Grace & Peace
