Gutter Guards

Last week, I took my kids and some friends bowling. It was the last FREE day before school started back and we wanted to maximize the playtime. So, we loaded up and made a trip to get chicken, french fries, sprite and toy for lunch (their favorite-not mine!) and then headed to the bowling alley.
They got their cool bowling shoes on while I asked the lady to be sure and put the gutter guards up. It was tons of fun watching the kids literally throw their bowling balls down the lanes, bounce off the sides and knock down pins. No form, no rhyme or reason to what they were doing, just fun. It looked more like pinball than bowling and made me laugh.
While sitting and talking to the kids, I decided it was time for a life lesson. I began to ask them if there was a spiritual lesson they could learn from bowling. I got that glazed stare that I normally get when I try to turn something into a lesson, but I am trying to develop thinkers for the Kingdom, so that doesn't deter me one bit.
I asked them to try to figure out what the lesson might be.....a few minutes passed and I had mine. When I asked them if they wanted to hear, there was little enthusiasm, until Noah said that he did. So I whispered it in his ear. Next thing I knew, they all wanted to hear my lesson. But I wasn't going to tell them. They didn't really want to know. They began to beg and so I relented.
Bowling is like life...it is easeir with the gutter guards up.
Then I asked....so what is the gutter guard.
It only took a millisecond for them to respond....JESUS.
Life is easier with Jesus as our gutter guard. He keeps us out of the gutter. ALL FOR YOU