Linda Wood Rondeau

Having the Prime of My Life

WHEN WORDS BITE YOU
Wednesday, September 17, 2025 by STEVE WYZGA

Categories: ADVENTURES / MUSINGS / RELATIONSHIPS / SPIRITUALITY

PLEASE WELCOME

STEVE WYZGA

TO

HAVING THE PRIME OF MY LIFE

I joined my sons and grandsons for a weekend boys camp in West Virginia. First to sixth-grade boys enjoyed supervised rotations ranging from catching crawdads in the creek to firing 22s on a rifle range. The theme verse that weekend was from I Timothy:

Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. (I Timothy 5:12 ESV)

At one point, I filled in to lead the ax-throwing rotation. “These throwing axes,” I explained to the boys, “have spikes on all sides which can penetrate the target. There is even one on the top, but that is so small it won’t hold. In fact, I’ll give $20 to anyone who can make it stick.”

He who sits in the heavens laughs… (Psalm 2:4 ESV)

I am regularly struck by how present and active God is in my life. He doesn’t miss a moment. Within five minutes, a dad had ‘essentially’ stuck the tip—close enough that I had to pay up. But before the rotation was finished, one of the boys clearly stuck it. Within 15 minutes, I was out $40.

 

Word spread quickly, and every group that came up asked if they, too, could get $20.

My answer was: “No. I repented of my foolish words. I did not set you “an example in speech…” (I Timothy 5:12).

I don’t know what others took away from the weekend (apart from the $40), but I was convicted. I need to be careful with my words. They can cost me more than $20. Like a throwing ax, they can even wound innocent hearts.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Steve Wyzga came to faith during the Charismatic Movement of the 1970s, moving to the Washington, D.C. area in 1980 to begin a long career in church ministry that has spanned over 40 years. For 30 of those years, Steve worked within the corporate world, from delivery to management. Steve is now turning his business and ministry experiences into writing. He is a member of local writing groups and online. Learn more about Steve Wyzga on his website. Steve enjoys spending time with his wife, children, and grandchildren

https://www.stevewyzga.com/

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/steve.wyzga


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