‘T-bar’ lives

Did you see the article T-bar Lives from Thursday's Summit Daily News?

What's that you say? You don't read the Summit Daily News that often!?! Then you might think it's a bit obsessive to be up before dawn reading the ski-town newspaper online. You're probably right.

Anyway, there's this guy Tommy 'T-bar' Larkin, who has been a ski bum in Breckenridge for over 35 years. To qualify for the label 'ski-bum' in Breckenridge you have to be seriously devoted to skiing. 'T-bar' is seriously devoted to skiing. He works two low-paying jobs, only owns two forks and decorates his tiny apartment with his old ski gear. Tommy skis a lot -- more than 200 days a year. He's been living the dream in Breckenridge for over 30 years. Locals call him the king of ski bums.

But just as death comes for the archbishop, so it also comes for ski bums. Tommy had a massive heart attack while skiing last week and crumpled in a heap on the cold Colorado snow. Providentially, the spot where his body slid to a stop was in the ski-path of a doctor from Louisiana who gave him CPR until the ski patrol arrived with a portable defibrillator. That got his pulse going again until the flight for life helicopter took him to a Denver hospital. And happily, that day last week was NOT the day that God had chosen to end Tommy 'T-bar' Larkin's life on earth.

Now skiers are not usually known for making profoundly reflective theological statements, so we shouldn't be surprised that Tommy's new-found perspective on life and death leaves a few important things out.

“Skiing is ... skiing is life, y’know?” he says. “It gives you that grasp, y’know? Not even skiing the whole day, but just to get out there for two hours. It gives you that cosmic grasp that you need. It grounds you.”

Dude. Sweet. Totally.

Seriously, I don't get it. I'll be the first to admit that I'm a bit of an obsessive skier. Ask Megan for proof. But I'm not getting that same 'cosmic grasp' through skiing. And I don't think any other sane person is either.

Perhaps there are some things to admire in Tommy's devoted commitment to his beloved winter sport and lifestyle. One must exercise a lot of discipline to ski 200+ days a year. The sacrifices he has made to be a mid-50's ski bum have been great. No wife. No family. No meaningful career. No complete set of flatware. Yes, Tommy has a sincere and pure devotion to skiing. But is skiing all that there is? Is skiing life?

Most certainly not. Tommy, my skiing friend, you're missing something very important. I love skiing a lot too. It's an exhilarating gift from God. But our souls need something more than skiing to be grounded in life. We need Jesus. The Apostle Paul talks about sincere and pure devotion in 2 Corinthians 11:3. This devotion is similar to your devotion to skiing, but the object of the devotion is so different. It's not a sport, place or lifestyle. It's a person. "But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ."

To live a simple and devoted life, like 'T-bar' does, can be a good thing as long as the simple life is devoted to something that lasts longer than a few inches of powder snow. A wise man once said that God, the Word of God and the souls of men will last for eternity. That's cosmic. The eternal God is the only one able to truly ground us.

I'm praying for you, 'T-bar'. God has a reason for not letting you die on that green run last week. I'm praying that your simple devotion to skiing will be overcome by a new simple devotion -- to Jesus.