Skip to main content

Hit Me Good, Jackie…Hit Me Good!

By August 28, 2012August 30th, 2022Devotional

Today, our first full day here at the Greenbrier, turned out to be spa day. Janet is always pretty insistent that we go down to the spa and get one of their treatments. She usually gets pedicures, manicures, or today she had a facial, but I’m more of a sauna and massage kind of guy.

I’ve been waiting for this trip quite a while. So when I walked into the men’s locker area, Roscoe, the attendant, who has been there 6 years, greeted me warmly. He started out his career working in Terra Haute, IN as a guard in the prison system. He hasn’t been back there in years, but for some reason, he still holds a special affinity for those of us who live in Indiana. He loves his job here and is always quick to affirm his decision to work in the men’s locker area. So, after catching up on all the news since I was here last time, Roscoe let me back to the area with the baths and my serene afternoon got under way. I started my spa day soaking in the hot sulphur water this region is named for, and after which this town, White Sulphur Springs, is named.

There was music playing in the background and it just seemed like all the cares in the world just melted away. Of course, you can’t help but think about water – it’s all around you. I spent time wondering how Kristin was enjoying her zip line experience in Ketchikan, Alaska – where she is today – traversing the treetops in raging rain storms and let me tell you, rain in Alaska can be COLD.

Then, the poor people in New Orleans who are once again bracing for a hurricane – and Isaac has just hit the shoreline. The water level has already risen more than 8′ and the storm is barely getting started. News reporters said that the city of New Orleans has spent more than $10 billion is shoring up their defenses against storms since 2005 when the last devastation took place. They are still expecting major damage to the area.

I found myself quietly contemplating all the different things going on in my life right now – but for the moment, they seemed far away. This was just the quiet time that I had been looking forward to for the past several months. Then, too soon, that rest was over and I had the chance to sit in the sauna for 10 minutes. The scent of eucalyptus was powerful as I entered the 112 degree sauna. Of course, the cold towel wrapped around my head and shoulders made it a little more enjoyable.

Then, Jackie, the elderly man who has been there for years, came to get me for the swiss shower and scotch spray part of the experience. The swiss shower includes 17 forceful shower heads that pummel you from every direction and it feels great. You can’t help but pay attention to what is going on or you’ll get a mouthful of water. And then, well, all I can say is that it’s my favorite part of the whole day… Because Jackie, this short elderly man, fires up two nozzles and sprays you from head to toe, and then some, with these powerful jets of water. And I mean powerful… My shoulder has been bothering me and I really wanted him to work out the kinks. So I told him to hit me good… and he did.

One of my friends back in Indiana always laughs when he hears my stories about the scotch spray and once again, I started laughing when I hung on for dear life as Jackie cranked up the juice and pounded every muscle in my body. You just have to hold on to the vertical support bars or you could get knocked over – for real… I swear I could stand there for quite a while. It’s worth the price of admission, just that…

Not that I didn’t enjoy the massage that followed, but you just can’t beat being pummeled by a fire hose. When you’re done, there isn’t a tight muscle in your whole body. I wish I could do that more often.

With all the news about water today in Alaska, the floods hitting the shores of Louisiana as I am writing this, and my own day with torrents of water, I thought a verse from Job would be appropriate tonight. To set the context, God has put Job on the defensive – and is letting Job know that God is the Creator and controls so much that we don’t even think about very often. And so much of what God does has to do with water.

From Job 38:34-38, God speaks to His servant Job and demands, “Can you raise your voice to the clouds and cover yourself with a flood of water? Do you send the lightning bolts on their way? Do they report to you, ‘Here we are’? Who endowed the heart with wisdom or gave understanding to the mind? Who has the wisdom to count the clouds? Who can tip over the water jars of the heavens when the dust becomes hard and the clods of earth stick together?” God certainly is powerful – far more so than Jackie on the nozzle of the scotch spray…

My encouragement this evening is that we should always remember the grandeur and majesty of God. After all, He is the architect of so many of the things that happen to us every day. My prayer is that your heart and mind will have wisdom and understanding as you appreciate the sacrifices that God made, through sending His Son to the cross, so that we may all have eternal life. Have a great day in the Lord, grace and peace…

Leave a Reply