The other day, I found myself in a game of dodgeball. I was walking along, minding my own business when I got hit in the back with a ball. Orange. Couldn’t miss it. When I turned around, I got hit in the side with a blue ball. As I reached down to pick up the orange one, I was hit in the head with a red one. Thus, the game began, and no, this was not a child’s game. The brightly colored balls that I found myself picking up and using were words, thoughts, and actions. And I began hurling those colored balls back at those things that were aiming at me.

In grade school and middle school, dodgeball was a fun game. It was both a physical and mental game and I found it joyful to play. I always looked forward to dodgeball day in P.E. class. Even when my friends and I were on separate teams, I would see that killer look in their eye when aiming that ball at me to take me out. But after P.E., we would laugh and slap each other on the back and skip to class with our arms linked.

But this day, this game was serious. No one was laughing. In fact, it was a game I didn’t know that I was playing in. It was simply automatic that I threw the blue ball (words) back at the man who had aimed it at my heart. My throw back, however, had no power. I then reached for the orange ball (thoughts) and tried to throw it back at the woman cashier who had thrown it at my head, but my throw went wide. I chased down the red ball (actions) and aimed it at the driver of the car who had gone for the dead-on kill shot. My return shot was a lob, and I missed my mark by a mile. I called a time out and sat down to pray.

As it turns out, I’m not good at dodgeball anymore, and I don’t want to be. God doesn’t want me playing dodgeball with the world. Those colorful balls aimed at me: orange, blue, red, green, and yellow are for kill-shots. Their intent is to get me to pick up those balls and keep me busy throwing them back and to eventually knock me off my journey path. But what God wants of me on the Spiritual Journey is to be solely focused on Him. He, Who brings me into His new creation where the final outcome is a confident life constant in love without fail, regardless of who or what is encountered. This new creation is consistent in peace, joy, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self–control. These qualities and characteristics are the exact likeness of the ever-present eternal Spirit.

By the way, I threw out my headband and wristbands. No more dodgeball for me.