3 Aug 2008
Vince McMahon should know about Jacob. As the head of World Wresting Entertainment, he can truly appreciate a man who wrestled for an entire night and still would not give up. And talk about theatrics! He even had a dislocated hip and he kept on wrestling! I do think, though, that McMahon would have to talk to Jacob about the prize he won after all that wrestling. No belt, no endorsements, not even a year’s supply of Rice-A-Roni, the San Francisco Treat. All he got for his trouble was a blessing, and that is all he wanted. It may have been the greatest prize of all.
To quote Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, “God is in the details”, and that was proven to me in that I was asked to preach this day and that the Old Testament reading is what it is this day. For today, my friends, signaled the end of my own wrestling match and the beginning of my blessings.
A little over a year ago a friend of mine, who also is a parent to Spanish Greyhounds, known as galgos, called me and gave me some wonderful news. She was going to once again be a parent to a galgo. This was no ordinary galgo, however. This creature had seen man’s cruelty close up, and through what I can only attest as God’s intervention, cheated death. The adoption group had called her specifically, asking her to tend to this creature, as they knew only she could heal his body and spirit. I, of course, was thrilled for her, and knew this pup would have the best of lives from that moment on.
I guess I was a bit too enthusiastic on the phone, as I received not one, but two calls from her in the following weeks, both with the same opening phrase, “There’s another galgo coming over with my dog, are you interested?” I had told her no the first time, as the dog she described would not fit in well with my household or lifestyle. The second time was different.
The second time she told me about this tiny, for a galgo, little girl, who had been wandering the woods for an unknown time. At some point in her journey, her leg had been caught in a hunter’s trap, breaking the bone. She was finally lured into a trap and sent for medical attention by the rescue group. That was on Valentine’s Day, and thus she was named, Valentina.
A temporary home was found for her, but the group knew it had to be a temporary home, and set out to send this girl to the United States and a better life. My friend then used the same line on me that the rescue group had used on her…she knew of no better home in which to be sent than mine. I agreed to visit her that weekend.
She must have known I was coming, as she promptly escaped from the kennel where she was being held, and disappeared into a park in Philadelphia with a heavily wooded area. Thus began my wrestling match. For ten days we searched, plotted, and strategized. We disagreed, argued, and bit back words. At the end of those ten days, she allowed herself to be captured once again. I rejoiced at the blessing and at the end of my wrestling match. That was short lived, for round two was about to begin.
Valentina’s plight had been highly publicized in order to gain more volunteers to search. That proved to be a double-edged sword, as it brought out some who began to obsess over this little girl, and who felt that they were the only ones who deserved to own her, even after it was announced that I was the one chosen to become her parent. No, these people would not go gently into the night.
It was the stuff of a bad novel. There was theft of documents, harassment, and late night phone calls. There were attacks on my character, slanderous statements about me, and downright lies about my competence. There were betrayals by the kennel that kept her, outrageous demands for her freedom, and power plays regarding that freedom. Jacob’s wrestling match lasted one night. Mine went six weeks. He had a hip dislocated. Those in my match, including me, wound up with health issues, shattered self-esteem, and psychological damage. Our lives had been dislocated by a war that none of us ever asked for. Through it all God was with me, of that I am of sure, for I could not have gotten through without his guidance and love.
At daybreak, Jacob’s foe asked him to stop wrestling, and Jacob refused unless the foe gave him a blessing. On August 3rd of last year, the wrestling stopped and a blessing came my way. That is when I took Valentina to her new home and her new life. Israel and his descendents would face further struggles, and I have with Valentina, but there is no doubt that this little girl has been a blessing in my life.
After he received his blessing, Israel limped towards where his family was. We can assume that he recovered and felt better as the days went on. All who were involved in our wrestling match have recovered, have moved on. Israel’s life was changed because of his wrestling match, and so have ours. Some friendships were shattered and others made. Some alliances were shattered, only beginning to be repaired or replaced. We have all limped towards our future, slowing healing as we go.
On this one year anniversary of when my wrestling match ended, I can look back and marvel at the blessings I have received.
It has given me a better understanding that God sometimes has us struggle so we can understand how wonderful His blessings are. We never appreciate the candle until we are plunged into the darkness.
For those who are undergoing their own wrestling matches, or may soon undergo them, all I can say is that I believe God is with you as you struggle. The path may not be easy and your burden may not be light, but you have someone to lean upon, who has promised to take your yoke upon himself. He will guide you through your wrestling match, and he will give you blessings when it is finished. You may not see those blessing immediately, but they are there. You may even see that the wrestling was necessary for the blessings to be given.
Now, if you decide you want to watch WWE, that’s something different altogether.
Amen.
Michael Gow
|
