This Seed Is for You If You Want to Know How Not to Run Life's Marathons

By James Parks

Life is a marathon and each one must choose how they will run, either to win or to lose. This book was written to encourage others to choose wisely. Run to win. The world has much to offer that has the power to destroy a life. It comes easy but with a big price and only with your permission. The road of destruction is Satan's plan (the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life) is wide open, but the narrow road (Jesus Christ) leads to freedom and victory. The things of this world will someday pass away; choose the things that will last, lay up treasures in heaven, and trust God to lead. He has a good plan and a purpose for your life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Page Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Apr 5, 2020
• ISBN: 9781647013905

James Parks

James Parks is an author living in the San Francisco Bay Area. He has been friends with his coauthor Ben Costa since the second grade. In addition to Dungeoneer Adventures, the two are the creators of the graphic novel series Rickety Stitch and the Gelatinous Goo (for which Ben is also the artist), as well as the tabletop roleplaying game Land of Eem.

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This Seed Is for You If You Want to Know How Not to Run Life's Marathons

James Parks

Copyright © 2020 James Parks

All rights reserved

First Edition

PAGE PUBLISHING, INC.

Conneaut Lake, PA

First originally published by Page Publishing 2020

ISBN 978-1-64701-388-2 (pbk)

ISBN 978-1-64701-390-5 (digital)

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Relief is what my spiritual eyes experienced after ten and a half years of prison, a failed marriage, and a near-death experience from an auto accident that left me with permanent nerve damage called the brachial plexus, all three events in just that order along with the devil’s accommodations.

Looking back at the beginning of my time, through spiritual eyes, I can see God’s favor all throughout my life, Jesus said, For no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them to me, and at the last day I will raise them up (Jn 6:44).

One of the first times God showed me favor, I was nine years old, and there were several other kids, but I was the one who was handpicked for a prize although the task we were doing was picking up litter off the side of the road. I saw the other kids working just as hard if not harder than me. So at that time I said, Why me? and apparently, the grownups all decided that I should have the prize. Even though it was a piece of music that wasn’t my preference, it was the principle of God’s favor at an early age, not knowing that it was the very beginning of a ripple effect of events that were yet to come.

The next time I recall after that, I was ten years old, joining a baseball team. I remember how appealing it was to be on a team for the first time in my life. And even though the boys my age didn’t have the whole uniform, it was still pretty cool to have the same-color caps and T-shirts; moreover, a feeling of unity. I guess you could say every time I went to bat, I struck out for the entire season. I hit the ball one time and the only time, and it was a foul ball. Boy, did I feel good just knowing the fact I had made contact with the ball. No one ever took the time to show me how to bat. My uncle was a couple of years older than me, and by him being a kid as well, he really didn’t know how to teach me. However, we wrestled a lot, and with him being older, he was stronger, causing me to be stronger. Since I could not bat, the coach said, We will put him in center field, because he’s probably not that good of a catcher.

One day, I was standing out in center field just daydreaming as usual, because there wasn’t any action at all in center field. One day, the ball hit the ground and rolled straight to me. I picked it up and threw it straight to the hind catcher, and if anybody knows anything about baseball, that’s something that’s rarely heard of, because you would have to have a rocket launcher for an arm to throw that amount of distance. Most of the time, center field would throw to second base or to shortstop, and they send it home. Suddenly, the coach wanted me on the pitcher’s mound for the next game. My uncle played with the older boys who had the whole uniform and was on the second-best team—The Cubs. The best team was the Pirates. My uncle overheard the coaches talking, and he said when he got home that afternoon, that they wanted me to pitch for the Pirates.

I was confused and didn’t understand and said, Why me?

He said, I don’t know, and in the back of my mind, I remember saying, This can’t be. How can I be on a better team than my uncle. And how can I have a better position than him; he’s older, stronger and playing with the bigger boys for a long time. Man, when he hits the ball, he puts it out of sight. My granddaddy would be bragging for three days after my uncle smashed that ball.

As I look back through my spiritual eyes, this reminds me of David and the process of how he had been chosen, before he killed Goliath (1 Sam. 16:7, 12). At the very next baseball game, I was on the pitcher’s mound with a rocket launcher for a right arm. The first two people—I walked them because I hit them with the ball. I had all that power and no accuracy and no one to work with me. However, out of that whole ordeal, I learned that somebody is always watching and that somebody is God—showing his favor, at a young age, teaching me that outward appearance is not what God looks at but the heart; so much for my baseball career.

My next thing was basketball, which I would never make the team. My problem was that I ran too fast, losing control of the ball, and there went my basketball career.

So we moved to the city. Now, I am ready for my football career, and my first experience with marijuana at the ripe age of thirteen. I played offensive and defensive tackle. I guess you could say all that wrestling with my uncle through the years prepared my strength. I played the whole game every special team, kickoff, kickoff return, punt, punt return the whole season for two years. I never, and I mean never, rode the bench. So now I’m smoking weed and ready for high school. I was going to play football and went to spring practice before I started my freshman year. We practiced twice a day, and I didn’t like the idea of riding the bench so I left and started boxing.

I boxed for quite a while. I was going back and forth, and little did I know that training to be a boxer would be the very thing God used to save my life in years to come. Meanwhile, that crafty old serpent known as Satan has introduced me to alcohol, fast girls, and more drugs. As I look back at my friends and cousin who used to be with me, my spiritual eyes have allowed me to see God’s favor, because all four are dead, due to some tragic event.

So I was fifteen years old, and I got my first job as a busboy working weekends. I made $100 biweekly. I had an older cousin