Permission to Get High

Man! Talked about Hell in the last post and now telling people to "Get High". This blog may have to get a PG rating soon. But I promise it's all innocent and there is a point. Keep reading.

Just finished running 5 miles tonight and it felt great. It wasn't quite as hot tonight as it was a couple of nights ago. Ran 4 on Monday night and it was just plain hot. That was tough. Tonight, I actually thought it felt good. I've got 19 so far for the week.

Went to the carnival last night. That's right - the good ole' Cool Springs Mall parking lot carnival. We spent a couple of hours there, got the unlimited ride bracelets and rode everything. And sitting there with my family, laughing, having the time of our life, I realized something very important. I'm too old for that stuff! I got sick on the 3rd ride. And then it was downhill after that. Even the ferris wheel was making me queasy. Max begged me to ride the kiddie roller coaster with him and I reluctantly agreed. Mistake! When we made the loop, I was so happy to see the station but the coaster kept going. I almost shouted, "For Crying Out Loud, Let Me Off This Thing!" We got back to the station a 2nd time and you guessed it. 3 times! Let us off! Let others ride! I was going to jump if we went a 4th time, but luckily it stopped and I was done. For the night. Maybe forever. But I loved watching my boys ride. They had a blast. Great carnival!

So I got high today. Actually, I don't know if this counts as getting high. Here's the deal. I hate the dentist! Well, I don't actually ate the man. He's a nice guy, but I hate going to the dentist. I've always hated it. And since I've become an old adult that can't ride kiddie coasters, I hate it worse than ever. I can't stand the scraping. They usually scrape for close to an hour. Now, I know I don't have the prettiest teeth in all the land, but they can't be that bad. I brush. I'm not perfect, but they can't need that much scraping. I honestly think they scrape them down to nubs each time and then rebuild my teeth. I hate it. After last time, I told Susan that I wasn't going back to the dentist. I didn't care if I pulled a George Washington and built my teeth in our garage, but no more dentist for me. Then I heard some good friends mention how they loved the dentist because they got Nitrous Oxide (N2O) each time. Laughing Gas. The Gas! Why I have never used it is a real mystery. I think my older sister has been using it since age 4. Why was it never offered to me? So I reluctantly agreed to go back to the dentist ONLY if they used the gas. So today, I got it and HO.........LEE.........COW!!! I love it!! Is that wrong? Should I feel guilty? Well I don't care because I felt more relaxed than I think I ever have. It was such a wonderful weird feeling. I knew what was happening the whole time but I didn't care in the least. She could've pulled out all my teeth with pliers and shoved them up my nose and it would've been just fine. I honestly didn't want it to end. I was thinking 'scrape those teeth, nursey, scrape them good.' So, I don't know if that is officially "getting high" but I did feel higher than the clouds. Can't wait for 6 months!!

I think a good word to describe how I felt today was "Euphoric". Always liked that word. There have been a select few times in my life when I felt that way. Today was one. I felt so relaxed and happy and content. I've felt that way while running before. It's called "runners' high". It's when you get that 2nd wind and you can't run fast enough. It usually happens to me toward the end of a run when the finish line or my house is in sight and there's a great song playing on my IPOD. It also happened to me right before our wedding started. I remember looking in the auditorium door, seeing all our family and friends and just feeling so good. It was euphoric. It's happened a few other times, but I'll tell you when it's happened the most....with God. I love "getting high" on God.

There have been times in my life that I have felt so good and content about my relationship with God. I have felt really close to him and felt like I was doing what I was supposed to. Sometimes it happens in worship or during youth singings. Sometimes it happens when I've heard a great lesson or seen a great spiritual movie. It has also happened when I'm in my car alone, listening to a spiritual song at full blast. I love those times. As I've mentioned before, Griffin's death, although tragic, has brought me closer to God and it's given me that euphoric feeling stronger than I've ever had it. And I don't intend to let it go away. There are days when it weakens or I let something get in the way. But I'm trying really hard to keep it going. It feels really good, even better than laughing gas.

If you can develop a relationship with God like this where you feel like you are on track and doing the right thing.....where you feel like you know you are going to Heaven and you are giving your all to God....if you can get to that euphoric feeling, that's when you realize what's important. That's also when you realize the fact that God is in control and nothing else, not even teeth scraping, matters.

Find that feeling. If you have it, don't lose it. Let's all encourage each other and pray for each other to keep it and share it with others.

I love Griffin and I love God.

Keep runnin'. The PRIZE awaits. (Php. 3:14)

-Albert

P.S. Don't do real drugs.