Going Through Hoops

We had a terrible drought last fall. The grass turned brown and crunchy, except for that large patch of new sod I religiously watered. (After all, I live in a parsonage.) It certainly seemed a poor time for lawn games.

I missed playing croquet. We've played it several times a year for a long time now (especially when our friend Anthony comes to visit). It would have been cruel to tromp around on the brown grass, and counterproductive to tread the new sod while working to encourage its growth.

Interesting side fact: When croquet was introduced into England from France in the seventeenth century, it was called "pall mall." I wonder why a brand of cigarettes was named after a lawn game.

There is a standard double-diamond setup for the nine hoops for backyard croquet. We usually start that way, but soon we change the pattern to include long shots, areas with several protruding tree roots, and particularly uneven spots. Knocking the wooden ball with a mallet through wire hoops is easy for people that can hit a ball straight, so we deliberately sabotage this tame game.

In Ecclesiastes, the author finds life boring. We generally assume the writer is King Solomon, and he's always looking for some variety. YES! That's how we play croquet.

I love reading about Jesus in the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John). He was full of surprises. Nobody knew what to expect.

That's just one of the many ways I want to live like Jesus. The Christian life is an adventure, not just a duty.