Traveling the Rock Road

Strange, 24 hours prior I was playing drums in a band at a county fair for a large crowd. Now I found myself in a dimly lit hospital room straining to focus on images around me through blurry eyes.  Questions were rifling in my mind faster than I could process them. “How did this happen?” “How did it get so crazy so quick?” “Am I going to be alright?” “Should I even be alive?!” Okay, I better tell you the early part of the story before going any further.

As I mentioned, the band I was with was playing a venue at a county fair. It had been a great gig; outdoors on a warm summer night, crowd getting into the music and the band playing at it’s best. It was bitter-sweet for me seeing this would be the last time I’d make music with this great group of guys. I was playing more often with an older group of guys and that band traveled so it made it impossible to do both bands. My buddy Lynn and I had packed up all the equipment, taken it back to where we practiced and now were heading to see what we could find to do, in other words get wild. After going to a party and indulging in marijuana, we headed to my place to get some sleep. Ma worked the night shift and the house was locked up. No problem! I would just stand on the railing of the porch, grab the edging right below my bedroom window on the 2^nd floor, then grab the window sill and pull myself into my room. Piece of cake, besides I had done this many times before and yes, I was a lot lighter then.  So, what went wrong? I really don’t know. Maybe I didn’t have a good grip on the window sill; perhaps being under of influence distorted my judgement. (Gee, ya think?!!) All I know is I suddenly fell backwards 15 feet and landed onto the sidewalk head and shoulders first. Adrenalin must have surged in Lynn because even though I was a good 5” taller than him, he was able to pick me up, cram me into his small VW Karmann Ghia and race to the hospital.

I won’t go into a lot of details, but E.R. sewed up the gash in my head and placed me in a room overnight for observation. The doctor did say I was lucky to be alive considering how I landed on concrete. That night I didn’t sleep much; I kept remembering the accident and moments leading up to the event. I thought about all the times alone in the middle of the night I had done that stunt. What might have happened if Lynn hadn’t been there for me? I considered how fast the whole thing happened and how young I was thinking how close I came to ending my life. And the biggest question, why was I even still alive?

It was a couple weeks later when I walked into building where we practiced and there was Lynn talking to another friend who had aligned himself with a group of young people we referred to as “Jesus Freaks.” Lynn gave me a wave as our friend Bric kept talking about Jesus. I had heard it all before and actually thought I was okay in this area, just not as radical these hippie Bible-toters. Not wanting to be rude, I flopped down on the couch and listened as the conversation continued, and I heard words like I never had before.  “For the wages of sin is death, but the GIFT of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” “Neither life or death can sperate us from the love of God.” “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Bric left, Lynn and I popped opened a couple of beers and went on with life as usual. But the words kept coming back to me; death, life, eternal life. I didn’t make a decision that night but knew I had to look deeper into this subject. A year later on a dark night in the same bedroom I nearly died trying to climb into, I gave my life to Christ.

I’m sure some would say I made a choice based on emotions from a near death experience, but I don’t think so. Like I said, it was a year before I came to believe in Christ. It wasn’t a guarantee I would see tomorrow, but I believe God gave me a 2^nd chance to know His love and gift of life before it was too late. Because I care for each of you I only ask you take time to check God’s love, and His gift of life.

Now I suppose I could end my story there, but I don’t believe it’s about salvation and then sitting around waiting until I see my Lord.  Actually, I doubt I would have stayed with Christianity if that’s all there was, too boring. As I refer to this blog, myself and everyone else, we’re all “Travelers of the Rock Road.” And whether that journey is long or short, the question we need to ask ourselves is what is it we want to accomplish along the way. Dear Old Billy Graham, I think, said it well:

Our days are numbered. One of the primary goals in our lives should be to prepare for our last day. The legacy we leave is not just in our possessions, but in the quality of our lives. What preparations should we be making now? The greatest waste in all of our earth, which cannot be recycled or reclaimed, is our waste of the time that God has given us each day.

No argument here, thanks for reading.

See ya next time.