This ring is a skateboarding bearing that busted. I removed the lubricant that remained after the devastation and scraped out the inside layer of rusty gunk. It turned my finger burnt orange for the first few months that I wore it. This ring means a lot to me.
Skateboarding is one of the main ways that I connect to God. It's become a big part of my life, and every time I step on my board is a worship session. I've learned so much from skateboarding. The more I skate, the better I become and the more comfortable I become on my board--the less separate me and my skateboard act.
I know that God is good, because He lets me skateboard, and He allows me to progress and get better. I get so excited when I land a new trick, or when I've been trying so long to land the same trick and I finally land it. Skateboarding is incredibly rewarding; moreso, I think, than any other sport I've played (ultimate frisbee comes close, but it's not as fun as skating, although it can be a nice change of pace). This is a link to a three-minute clip of some of my best skating this year: 2008 Footage.
Here is a more descriptive list of the things I've learned from skateboarding:
--Perseverance: When you're trying to land a trick for an hour, you're sweaty, worn out, just want to give up... but you're so close to landing it, it's just going to take that little additional amount of balance and focus. I've tried tricks for an hour straight and never landed them. Those are some of the most frustrating days, but either way I've gotten a good workout.
--Patience: When you are trying for an hour to land what seems like an ollie, I've learned not to get too fed up with myself. Essentially, I look at it like I view myself spiritually. I've learned to wake up in the morning without a chip on my shoulder. Yes, I know the Eternal God, that's really tight, but I underestimate sometimes how selfish I can be. I've learned that my best days are the days that I don't consider myself beyond committing any defiling act, that way I work from myself up to God who is my strength, not start with a prideful commendation and work down to God (that's just backwards). I've also learned to not be angry in my mind at the droves of little kids that are constantly at skateparks and even more constantly getting in my way, it seems. The same at Purdue's campus: I am surprised at how many zombies walk around in the middle of the day. Occasionally I'll be standing still holding my skateboard, and a couple people will without a doubt run into me because they're not looking. This can infuriate me like none other. They don't even say they're sorry, they just look at me like, "ughhhhhh" and keep walking. And even when I'm crouched down about to do a trick, people will incessantly continue to walk towards me and sometimes even change their path to walk in front of me. GAHHHHH! But none the less, Jesus loved them enough to die for them, and I'm learning to not become so upset about it. Actually, lately I've been pretty chill about it, but I don't want to commit heinous pride here.
--Love: Isn't this a big category? Love. Helping the little kid who just cut you off five times in a row get up the ramp because he's too small to get up on his own. Love. Giving your fellow skater the last of your gatorade because he's dying of thirst... and so are you. Love. giving people rides to the skatepark. Love. Being honest about what Jesus has done in your life when they see His name on your griptape. Love. Having an extra helmet to give to skaters at the park because they can't afford one. The list goes on. God is really helping me see the beauty of His creation all around, especially in the faces and bodies of skaters, who whether they like it or not, are made in the image of God.
--Sacrifice: This may seem a little out of place, but bear with me. At the end of 2 Samuel, David is about to score a free parcel of land to offer sacrifices to God to end the destruction of his people. When he is told this by Araunah (the owner of the land) David says the following, "No, I will pay you for the land. I won't offer to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing." Skateboarding is a spiritual act for me. It helps me connect to God, using my sweetly-designed body to do weird tricks and somehow bring Heaven to earth moreso than it already was. And with perseverance, when I'm trying that trick for the one-hundreth time, I remember that I don't just skateboard for me, I'm skating to bring glory to God by doing my best and giving my all in everything that I do to prove myself worthy of His name. Colossians 3:23 says, "Do everything as for the Lord, and not for men." I'm satisfied to learn a new trick when no one else is around to see it; God sees it, and He loves it.
Being a skateboarder also gives me the unique position to show other skaters the bright and salty love of Jesus. Most skaters are harassed by their elders for "destruction of property" or "wasting their time." By being a skateboarder, and knowing Jesus, I am quite able to share Jesus with other kids in a way that no non-skater ever could.
So that's a brief report of skateboarding and how it relates to my bearing ring. Here's a summary of Bijoux Week so far:
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