White Terry Cloth Towels

WHITE TERRY CLOTH TOWELS

In this Checkpoints, Bill recounts a number of practical uses for white terry cloth towels from a group of “young men” during this year’s fourth of July retreat. They wrote in response to my contest challenge to “list as many uses for this white rag you can think of…”

Champ, the nickname for Brady, a baseball player, won for writing and sharing the longest list of uses for his white terry cloth towel. He wrote that when fishing, he could use his towel to wipe the fish slime off his slipper hands.
 When playing baseball, Champ said, he could not only use the towel to wipe the sweat from his face, but he could also clean his bat. And, he added, his third base coach could use his towel to wipe his forehead when signaling that Champ was supposed to bundt…
 When Champ was supposed to do something else that he may need to do when batting in a ball game, another team member could use the terry cloth rag to signal him.
 Champ noted that his towel could also clean bug guts off his truck’s windshield.
 When necessary, Champ could use a a clean corner of his towel to clean his eyeglasses, he said.
 Someone, not mentioning any names, could wipe the lipstick off his lips so their mother wouldn't know he had just had his first kiss.
 The terry towel could also wipe away tears from his girlfriend's eyes when he broke up with her, Champ said.
 Another contestant wrote that someone could use the white terry cloth towel to strain gas into the lawn mower when they knew the gas had little particles of trash in it… just stick the cloth down in the lawn mower gas tank and then pour gas through it to remove the trash.
 When I'm sneezing, I can cover my face, another person wrote, or I can blow my nose on it.
 A white terry towel works great to with the car’s oil dipstick off when checking the level of oil in a truck or car.
 Jackson, a computer gaming “expert” wrote that he could use a clean white terry cloth to clean his keyboard.
 Somebody pointed out a white terry towel could serve to draw snow geese into their hunting area.
 Another “young man” pointed out that you can use a white terry cloth on or in your car to flag somebody down for help if had trouble.
Someone else recounted that one guy tied a white cloth on his car’s antenna to let folks know he needed help.

shELAH’s Note:

The common and creative uses for a white terry towel that Champ, Jackson, and others in the group Bill chaperoned me smile. They also encouraged me to consider other potential practices for an ordinary white cloth. What about throwing out a previously tied together string of towelsto rescue somebody struggling and needing to be pulled in from a pool, pond, or other body of water?

What about playing a game of “tug a war,” using a rope constructed from conjoined towels being used for this “battle”? What about phrase “throwing in the towel”? This sign indicates an individual or a group surrender or quits and admits defeat. In reference to boxing, when a trainer throws the white towel a boxer uses between rounds into the ring, this signifies that the boxer concedes the fight; that the fighter gives up or admits defeat.

Rather than quitting doing what God calls us to do, many Bible verses remind us as Christians that we are not to give up when things get hard or tough. 1 John 4:4 records that “…greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world.” 1 Timothy 6:12 encourages us that we are to “Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life…”
We are to persevere and keep on keeping on in faith, even during trying times. 2 Timothy 4:7 records Paul to have said, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course…” To fight the good fight of faith, we need to stand firm in the Word (the Bible; in Jesus); not letting our feelings; human reasoning, or sin rule us. We are to walk in the Spirit, following His leading; trusting that through Jesus we “…are more than
conquerors through Him that loved us” (Romans 8:37).

Although I have not met Champ and only two of the others who responded to my contest to “list as many uses for this white rag you can think of…,” I appreciate them. They inspired me to encourage others to use whatever resources God gives us to keep on keeping on following Jesus; to as Paul, finish the course of the call God placed in you. Their responses also reminded me not to forget to remember the “list” of more than I
can count benefits of trusting Jesus. He loves us. He died on the cross for our sins. He rose from the grave and lives today. He calls “whosoever…” to know Him and receive eternal life.
The blessings and benefits Jesus give outnumber any human-crafted list.