Wrestling was part of John's childhood. There were after all five brothers, and their energy had to go somewhere. His mother planted mattresses on the floor of their bedroom. Almost as if she expected them to wrestle. It's isn't as if they never got hurt. But that didn't diminish their matches one whit.
This was absent from my family history. The only son was outnumbered by sisters who were more inclined to sew than sweat. He found other ways to exert his masculinity, like owning a red dirt bike, and playing in a rock band.
The story in church was about Jacob wrestling all night. The identity of his opponent seemed to morph... from an angel, to a trouble maker, to God. But Jacob was determined, so much so that the foe reached down to touch the hollow of his thigh. This weakened Jacob, and yet he persisted.
"Bless me!"
Somehow the "grabber", for that is the meaning of his name, understands that there is a gift to be won through conflict. The wish is granted, and Jacob is given a new name.
"You shall be called Israel." Which has the considerably more enviable meaning of Prince.
The speaker expressed how he and his wife have renamed some of their qualities. She is by nature volatile. He tends toward avoidance. This has been the arena for sparks over the years. But they chose to rename those attributes. She is passionate, while he strives for peace. Those two can coexist and even bless each other.
While I have not pinned anyone's shoulders to the mat, grappling with that shape shifter Life has left me bruised. Tired. Limping. And yet there remains a grace that lingers beyond the ache, as I stumble toward the sunrise.
And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.
And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him.
And he said, "Let me go, for the day breaks." And he said, "I will not let you go, except you bless me."
And he said to him, "What is your name?" And he said, "Jacob."
And he said, "Your name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince you have power with God and with men, and have prevailed."
And Jacob asked him, and said, "Tell me, I pray, your name." And he said, "Why is it that you ask my name?" And he blessed him there.
And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: "For I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved." And as he passed over Penuel the sun rose upon him, and he limped on his thigh.
-Genesis 32
