subject: Hump Day And The Daredevil Life [print this page] Hump Day And The Daredevil Life
Before jumping his bike at Caesar's Palace, Evel Knievel was a thief, believing the rush of stealing to be the only thing he could find an adrenaline pump from. He shared that nothing frightened him, but wanting to avoid jail he eventually chose stunt riding as an ulterior outlet for his pent up frustration.
His infamous jump at Caesar's left him in a coma for twenty nine days. Later he would make an ill fated attempt at taking a rocket over the Grand Canyon. His daring stunts amazed crowds the world over. He used no speedometer sharing that he could not take his eyes off the ramp long enough to check it; instead he felt the speed of the bike and made corrections on his own.
Away from the track wild living and numerous affairs took a toll on his life. Along with broken bones and lifelong scars he had diabetes, contracted hepatitis and had to have a liver transplant.
Yet at 68 years old something changed. He would share, "I don't know what in the world happened. The power of God in Jesus just grabbed meAll of a sudden, I just believed in Jesus Christ. I rose up in bed and I said, Devil, get away from me. I cast you out of my life.'" He soon contacted Reverend Robert Schuller to be baptized.
His life is an example of what Dan Sneed meant when he said, "There is more grace in God's heart than there is sin or brokenness in yours."
Years ago some wag coined the phrase "hump day" for Wednesday, referring to the fact that the week was half over and the weekend was now closer than the beginning of the week.
Perhaps this is not the best way to perceive life, simply waiting to reach the weekend where many people do things to their minds and bodies from which they spend Monday recovering.
Evel Knievel embraced the philosophy of carpe diem, "seize the day." In the end his life brought him face to face with the divine love and grace uncovered by faith. He would later say, "I just got on my knees and prayed that God would put his arms around me and never, ever, ever let me go."
Would that we would live every day of the week with passion, not putting off until the weekend the joy of living that can be experienced right now in this moment as we simply live with gratitude for that same divine love and grace that surrounds us all.
Ed Foreman puts it well when he writes, "Someday when I grow up, finish school and get a job, I'll start living my life the way I shouldsomeday after the mortgage is paid off, the finances are on track and the kids are grown up, I'll start doing all that I planned to dosomeday, now that I am about to retire, I'll fulfill my dreams and my calling and do what I am meant to dosomeday."
Let's not live for "hump day" or "someday" but rather for today, for this moment, with thankfulness and passion for life, filled with hope and a future and trusting God to never, ever let us go. Could anything be more daring?
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