Drop-In

Have you ever done something that you were sure would break your neck?

 

Today, I took my son, Noah, to the Grand Prairie Skatepark to practice what he had learned this week in skate camp.

 

I had taken him earlier in the week to show me what he could do, but this time was different.

 

Last time I was telling him how to do things and encouraging him to try new “stunts”. 

 

He didn’t seem to like my “words of encouragement” when it came to doing a “drop-in” on the 3 ft. quarter pipe.

 

If you don’t know what a “drop-in” is, take a look at this video and you’ll see:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZyNO0h4WNAo&NR=1

 

Today, though, I had to “put up or shut up”.

 

Today, I paid for my own admission, rented a helmet and skated out to the practice area with him. 

 

Don’t you wish you could’ve been there to videotape it!!

 

Any way after about 15 minutes, I told him to try some “drop-ins”.

 

He said he was too scared.

 

I then asked him if he would try one if I did.

 

His eyes got big.  “Sure” he said.

 

I think he knew that I had no idea what I was getting myself into.  I think he also knew he was about to have some interesting entertainment.

 

I asked a kid on the platform how to do it and he slowly explained each step.

 

I did just what he said.  I put the board on the rail, put my foot on the tail of the board and then froze. 

 

It sure looked higher up on the platform.  (It was only 3 feet high.)

 

I picked up the board, I looked at Noah, he smiled back at me and I put the board back down on the rail.

 

I started talking to myself.

 

“Okay, you can do it.  This is not going to kill you.  You could get hurt.  No, you will get hurt.  Maybe not this try, if you’re lucky, but sometime you are going to get hurt.”

 

“Okay, pick your foot up.  Pick it up.  Pick…it…up.  Its not moving.  Get up foot!  You aren’t in control!”

 

I then turned and smiled at Noah.  He smiled again.

 

“Come on Dad.  You can do it.”

 

I thought I heard a little sarcasm in his voice.

 

Well, I won’t bore you with anymore excruciating details, but needless to say after about 10 tries, I was able to “drop-in”.

 

I then moved to the 4 ft. quarter pipe and landed on my back. 

 

I think every kid in the park went “ooohhh”. 

 

I don’t think they thought I was going to get up.

 

I did.  Slowly.

 

After my “adventure”, Noah and I kept skating and he even tried several more “drop-ins”.  It seemed like he listened to me more closely and was willing to try more “tricks” once I had “skated” in his shoes.

 

Why am I writing this to you?

 

I realized several things:

 

1.      Kids are actually great teachers.  Since most of what they have learned has been learned recently, they know they know how hard it is to learn and they don’t want you to make the same mistakes they did.

2.      If you fall and stay down, they will either call the ambulance if it is serious or run over you with their skateboards. They don’t respect anyone who won’t at least try. If you fall and get up, they respect the fact that you tried. 

3.      Never rent a helmet.  You never know which of the previous wearers had head lice…

4.      And finally, words of encouragement mean nothing unless you’ve actually been in the same predicament.  Then the words are golden.

 

Christ did the same when He came and lived through what we live through. 

 

He came and “dropped-in” from heaven. 

 

He knew what it was like to lose someone He cared about, what it was like to be hungry, what it was like to lack sleep and how it felt to laugh.

 

He was one of us so He could be one with us.

 

Well, Noah and I had a ton to talk about on the way back home from the skatepark.

 

Somehow I think he knew we shared the same fears of our first “drop-in”.