Plastic Turkeys and Filthy Uniforms

“The Lord cares for everything, and the smallest creatures share in His universal providence, but His particular providence is over His saints.” – C.H. Spurgeon

When I was in college, I worked for two summers as a lifeguard at a day camp. Part of the job involved giving swimming lessons and part involved monitoring the “open swim” times to make sure no one was drowning. My fellow lifeguards and I would take turns sitting in the lifeguard stand and patrolling the perimeter of the pool.

Over the course of the summer, I got to know some of the campers quite well and would affectionately call some of them “turkeys”. Don’t ask me why; it was almost 50 years ago, and I forget the reasoning behind the nickname. However, I do recall buying a handful of small plastic turkeys and passing them around to my favorite kids on the last day of summer camp… and you would have thought I had given them a million dollars!

During my many years of managing softball teams, I always tried to treat my players equally but there were a few guys who really stood out. One was Bud Collins, a real 5-tool player, which means he could hit for average, hit for power, run, throw, and field very well. To this day, Bud is still the finest all-around softball player I’ve ever seen.

Another player whose name I loved writing into our lineup every game was Walt Nesbitt. He usually played right-center field and often batted second. What I appreciated most about Walt was his hustle. Whether he was tracking down a fly ball or running the bases, Walt gave it his all… and his filthy uniform after each game attested to the fact that he held nothing back.

On our Risk Takers for Christ basketball team, Marty Gradijan is our leading scorer, and I’ve seen him play through all kinds of injuries. But I guess my favorite is still my son Chris, who gives 110% every time he steps onto the court. I sound like a proud dad, don’t I?

Well, my friend, I have some good news for you. YOU are God’s favorite because you are also His child! Or as Charles Spurgeon puts it, “You are His peculiar care, His royal treasure that He guards as the apple of His eye, His vineyard over which He watches day and night.”

I’ll bet you feel kind of special now, don’t you?

“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, to proclaim the virtues of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” I Peter 2:9

- Rev. Dale M. Glading, President