Call Me Crazy
I have been called crazy quite a few times in life and I wear that badge with honor. I like to think of it more as crazy faith, but I have to agree sometimes it is just ok in my book to be a little crazy. Isn’t life made to live a little on the edge instead of playing it safe all the time.
I love the quote that goes something like this. Nothing amazing has ever been accomplished by anyone who refused to try the previously considered impossible.
Most people, who have been blessed to experience their dreams coming to reality, could begin their story with a sentence that goes something like this, “If you would have told me as a young starry eyed kid that someday I would be experiencing living out many of my dreams, I would have to call you crazy.”
I didn’t reach my dream of playing in the NBA, but God’s will was so much better!
I was blessed with a Godly hard working and loving mom and dad who sacrificed daily so that my sister and I could go to camps and chase our dreams. We were not rich by worldly means, but what we lacked in stuff, God made up for with love.
We had patches on our jeans and a cow trough for a swimming pool, which just so happens was the nicest pool in our neighborhood. Looking back, I find it a little funny that I still thought there was a poorer side of town. Not sure that is true, but the Washington Elementary school district definitely rivaled our Roosevelt School District. The wealthy Districts were Jefferson and the illustrious Lincoln School District.
Let’s just say if you grew up in Roosevelt, your environment forced you to be tough. That resulted in our 5th and 6th grade elementary football team dominating the city championships. Going into my 6th grade season, the city decided to combine all the elementary teams to start playing outside towns instead of only each other.
Our Coach, who everyone called “Doc” because he was a local chiropractor, refused to join the other three teams. Instead we would play other towns and the three consolidated teams on our own. What most people would consider crazy, we considered toughness exemplified.
How did it go you might ask? Looking back, the fact that a couple of our stud players flunked a grade or two might have helped, but we still had dominated. It was also the good ole crazy days when boys were boys.
When you got your bell rung, Doc would pull out some smelling salts and hold them under your nose to get you back in the action. I don’t remember ever even hearing the word concussion. That was for people who had experienced a car wreck or fell off a roof. We rode in the back of trucks and laughed at kids who wore a helmet when riding their bike. Call us crazy, but we knew those kids went to school at Lincoln.
Let’s switch gears and talk what qualifies as crazy. My favorite actress is Laura San Giacomo, who starred in the movie Quigley Down Under as Crazy Cora. She had a good reason to be a little crazy based on life dealing her a tough hand, but as the movie showed, a little Love makes crazy just ok with me.
What about a young lady they called crazy in the Bible? This story takes place in Acts 12. James the brother of John had just been captured and executed with a sword by King Herod’s guards. They had now captured Simon Peter and placed him in prison awaiting execution.
The rest of Jesus followers were held up in a hiding place praying all night for God to save Simon Peter from sure death. Their prayers touched the heart of God resulting in an angel being sent to break Peter out of prison. He loosens Peter’s chains, and leads him on a prison break. Peter thinks he is dreaming all of this, but realizes once outside, that he isn’t crazy, this actually happened.
Read it for yourself, “The night before Herod planned to bring him to trial, he made sure that Peter was securely bound with two chains. Peter was sound asleep between two soldiers, with additional guards stationed outside his cell door, when all at once an angel of the Lord appeared, filling his prison cell with a brilliant light. The angel struck Peter on the side to awaken him and said, “Hurry up! Let’s go!” Instantly the chains fell off his wrists. The angel told him, “Get dressed. Put on your sandals, bring your cloak, and follow me.” Peter quickly left the cell and followed the angel, even though he thought it was only a dream or a vision, for it seemed unreal—he couldn’t believe it was really happening! They walked unseen past the first guard post and then the second before coming to the iron gate that leads to the city—and the gate swung open all by itself right in front of them! They went out into the city and were walking down a narrow street when all of a sudden the angel disappeared. That’s when Peter realized that he wasn’t having a dream! He said to himself, “This is really happening! The Lord sent his angel to rescue me from the clutches of Herod and from what the Jewish leaders planned to do to me.””
Acts 12:6-11 TPT
Peter heads over to where Jesus’ followers are hiding and praying. He knocks on the door. Who answers, none other than Crazy Rhoda, also called Rose. For some reason Rhoda gets so excited after hearing Peter’s voice at the door, she forgets to open the door and instead runs to tell everyone that Peter is here.
The crew of followers prove to be a little low on faith and call Rhoda crazy. Instead they tell her it is Peter’s angel at the door. Say what? Who is crazy, Rhoda or the rest of these Jehu’s.
““Are you crazy?” they said to her. But when she kept insisting, they answered, “Well, it must be his angel.””
Acts 12:15 TPT
How many times when you tell someone about an amazing miracle that God has done, they come up with some crazy explanation of why the miracle did not actually occur? In my experience, this happens almost every time.
I wonder if doubting Thomas was still part of the crew. They finally open the door to find Peter standing there. Peter tells them to share the good new of what God has done!
Herod is so crazy mad that he executes all the guards, then leaves for Caesarea. This is where the story gets even more crazy. A group of people in need of food come to Caesarea . Their representative named Blastus, lol, sets up a meeting with Herod. After Herod’s speech from his throne, the crowd goes crazy and starts chanting “These are the words of a god, not a man”.
God takes offense because Herod accepts all the glory. God has an angel immediately strike Herod with a disease of worms that basically eat him alive. You would have to be crazy to believe such a thing, but read it for yourself.
“Immediately, an angel of the Lord struck Herod with a sickness, an infestation of worms, because he accepted the people’s worship and didn’t give the glory to God, and he died. But the hope of God’s kingdom kept spreading and multiplying everywhere!”Acts 12:23-24 TPT
What crazy thing are you doubting today? Maybe it is time you become a little more like Crazy Rhoda!
By the way, against all odds, we won another city football championship despite having to play the three school super team in the city championship. I actually scored the winning touchdown on a Statue of Liberty call. That was after stopping them on 4th down at the one. Did I mention God caused a crazy monsoon of a rainstorm to come help us out. Call me crazy, but I believe it without a shadow of a doubt even if you don’t. Go figure!