Jimmy and I lo
ved to go bowling. Mom and Dad bowled also.
Jimmy and I bowled for years in leagues from the 4th grade through college. In junior bowling Jimmy and I were on over 10 league championship teams. We also won the Alabama state doubles junior championship. We would not do well in team events or in singles. But when the doubles event came, Jimmy and I always seemed to come alive and do well.
One of my greatest bowling memories was of Jimmy’s greatest success in bowling. My highest game was 269. Jimmy bowled better — a 279. The highest score possible is 300 (12 strikes in a row for the whole game). Jimmy had the first 9 strikes in a row and was going for a perfect game. The crowds gathered around when he came up to bowl from about the 8th frame on. I was so nervous for him that I bowled a horrible 150 or so that game. For those who love bowling there is nothing like going for a 300. Jimmy got a 9-spare and strike in the 10th frame for his 279. I was so proud of him.
After coming to Christ, we bowled one year in a league. Then we quit league bowling. I go open bowling (not in a league) at lunch time every now and then at an alley near the Friends of Israel headquarters. But Jimmy and I went from very active (I bowled in three leagues at the same time in that last year) to stopping entirely. What changed? There is nothing wrong with bowling. It is a good sport and good for young people as sports go.
What changed was that Jimmy and I had become so involved in ministry at our local church after coming to faith in Christ. God began to move our hearts in a different direction. We did not have time to continue bowling as we had previously done. While I was proud of Jimmy’s 279, I was more thankful and proud for the man of God he became as he ministered the gospel to people’s hearts for the next four plus decades. God is good.
