hardship

Temperatures here in Boone have already dipped into the 20's, so that means that ski season can't be that far away. For those of you who plan to do some skiing this winter, someone has composed the following list of exercises to get you prepared:

~ Visit your local butcher and pay $30 to sit in the walk-in freezer for

half an hour. Afterwards, burn two $50 dollar bills to warm up.

~ Soak your gloves and store them in the freezer after every use.

~ Fasten a small, wide rubber band around the top half of your head

before you go to bed each night.

~ If you wear glasses, begin wearing them with glue smeared on the

lenses.

~ Find the nearest ice rink and walk across the ice 20 times in your ski

boots carrying two pairs of skis, accessory bag and poles. Pretend you

are looking for your car. Sporadically drop things.

~ Place a small but angular pebble in your shoes, line them with crushed

ice, and then tighten a C-clamp around your toes.

~ Buy a new pair of gloves and IMMEDIATELY THROW ONE AWAY!

~ Secure one of your ankles to a bed post and ask a friend to run into

you at high speed.

~ Fill a blender with ice, hit the pulse button and let the spray blast

your face. Leave the ice on your face until it melts. Let it drip onto

your clothes.

~ Drink several ounces of water (or another beverage of choice), dress up

in as many clothes as you can; now, quickly take them off because you

REALLY, REALLY HAVE TO GO TO THE BATHROOM!

** Repeat all of the above every Friday and Saturday until you're ready for

the real thing.

I live in an area where skiing is a popular activity. There are several ski slopes within 30 minutes of my house. Before moving to Boone, I had never been skiing before, but it sure looked like fun, so several years ago I gave it a try. Will I do it again? Reread the list above for my answer! :-) Maybe I shouldn't have waited until I was 40, or maybe I'm just not coordinated enough (skiing was no problem -- it was the stopping that I had trouble with). I just know I spent several hours saying to myself, "People actually pay to go through this!"

Why do skiers endure such hardship? You need to ask them that question, but there is obviously a certain amount of pleasure that they find in skiing.

Some people, no doubt, wonder the same thing about Christians. They don't see the point of going to all the trouble of living the Christian life and denying what they perceive as the "pleasures of life". So why do Christians endure hardships? I'll let the apostle Paul answer that question:

"Therefore I endure all things for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. This is a faithful saying: For if we died with Him, we shall also live with Him. If we endure, we shall also reign with Him." (2 Timothy 2:10-12a).

Do you find that living the Christian life is getting tough? It will help to remind yourself why you're doing what you're doing.

-alan smith