Don't be a zombie

The other day at my friend's house we were playing a variety of scenarios. Someone suggested we play the game they referred to as "Zombie Squad." I'm sure most of you have your own version of this game, but here's how my friend explained it to me...

Say you have 6-8 players, 2 or 3 of them are humans. If the humans are hit anywhere on their bodies, they become a zombie and immediately turn on the other humans. As for the rest, they are zombies, and THEY only die from a headshot.

Not a bad deal for the zombies, right? WRONG!

Zombies are limited. They can't run and they can't duck behind cover. They can only walk and stand upright behind objects (like trees).

So here's how it went down... Three guys immediately volunteered to be humans - leaving me and 4 other guys to be zombies. I just knew we were in for it. Can't run? Can't duck for cover? Crazy! And it was. As we walked into the play area (no larger than a small speed ball course), I was getting pelted repeatedly as they opened up on us. And like a bunch of idiots, we just had to take it. We were completely exposed and paying dearly for it.

As for the "humans," they hid nicely behind some good cover. Needless to say, we were annihilated. Oddly, I was the second to last zombie out as I took a hit to the back of the head - leaving a goose egg that stuck out a half inch.

Who's ridiculous idea was it to play this game? Oh, yeah, my buddy Adam's - who of course was the first to volunteer to be a human. Go figure.

So, what's the point? Well, I got thinking about that and realized many of us live our lives that way. We walk out into a firefight without any protection. Meanwhile, as the world pulverizes us, and we wonder why we are always in pain. We often don't have God's protection.

I don't use much body cover. I play in a t-shirt and camo pants. That means when I get hit, it hurts. God never wants us to live our lives like that. We are to put on the armor of God (Eph. 6:11-18). That way we are prepared for what the devil and the world throw at us.

Don't live your life like a zombie. Be active in your faith. Be strong and cover yourself with the armor that God made available to you. Read Eph. 6:11-18.

Back on the field again...

I'm back. Well, I never really went anywhere, but you may have noticed a huge gap between this and my last post back in March. A lot has happened in that time. I moved to a new job and home. And in the midst of that, my 5-year-old son, Caleb, was diagnosed with cancer. With that, everything stopped. Paintball, the blog, anything of lesser importance - and that's about everything. He just finished his last round of chemotherapy and is doing amazing.

He had what was called a Wilms tumor. It's a tumor that develops on your kidney. It and his kidney was removed. The kidney was very large and the surgeon had to cut him from his right side, half way across to his left side. Caleb calls the scar his "line." He's very proud of it. I told him that not many people get a line like his. He likes to show it to people.

You know, since this happened, I've had a lot of time to think about life in general.

We play paintball often as a testosterone catharsis. We love the rush of the challenge and fight. But when you face something big - in real life - you realize that life is the real challenge and fight. And you realize how weak we really are - how utterly dependent on God. We see that we really can't do anything without His grace, help, and guidance.

Why did God let my son get cancer? You know, I have never asked that - not even once. What does it matter, really? Isn't God still God? Doesn't He still love me, my wife, and Caleb. Didn't Jesus die for Me and my family's sins? Of course. Instead, we kept our eyes fixed on our precious Savior and asked for His Grace every day. And He gave it to us in huge doses - everyday.

I'm so thankful for God's grace. Because of Him, Caleb is strong, vibrant, and healthy. And some day, I will have the pleasure of rushing enemy bunkers and holding the left flank with Caleb at my side.