crushing it like Tim Shaw

I’m working on some talks I’ll be giving this weekend to a bunch of Penn State grad students, but I had to take a break to tune into the Steelers game.  Many moons ago there was a young PSU linebacker hanging around our student ministry.  He would have made a tremendous youth guy, but D1 football leaves very little margin for other things like youth ministry.

The fact of the matter is that Tim Shaw has a heart for Jesus, and a nose for the football.  I was listening to the game earlier and heard him block a Steelers’ punt.  Tim’s the captain of the special teams for the Tennessee Titans.  He is a beast on the football field, no doubt about it.

But that season when he was hanging out with us, he made quite a first impression.  We invited him to join us as our team was getting ready for a Valentines’ Banquet.  Kim had been working on the centerpieces for the tables, which included some lovely pink and white decorative soaps.  Tim walked into the kitchen and saw the pink and white hearts sitting on the counter…

God love him, Tim grabbed a couple of them and popped them into his mouth!  He almost had the first one swallowed before he realized that he wasn’t eating chocolate or cookies!  He made a beeline for the bathroom and began gagging, scraping, puking, hurling…he might have even used a plunger–anything to get the soap out of his mouth.

He might be a big stud football player, captain of the special teams, blocker of punts, crusher of men, but he’ll always have a special place in my heart as that college kid who chomped on soaps in my kitchen!