Spirit Juice: Hip Pocket Check
Chapter 14, the climax of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes Classic “The Hound of the Baskervilles,” has an interesting exchange between Holmes and Inspector Lestrade, who had come to Dartmoor, England (from London) at the request of Holmes as the “net was being set” to capture the villain in the story.
"Are you armed, Lestrade?"
The little detective smiled. "As long as I have my trousers, I have a hip-pocket, and as long as I have my hip-pocket, I have something in it."
"Good! My friend and I are also ready for emergencies."
This exchange struck me instantly. So much so that I pulled over (I was driving while listening to the audiobook) and jotted down the conversation so I would remember to reflect on it later.
So, what’s in your “hip pocket” that prepares you for emergencies?
My friends know that I go almost nowhere without a folding knife clipped to my hip pocket (or in my waistband if I’m wearing something without suitable pockets). I usually carry other items as well, but I’m not asking about those kinds of emergencies (besides, I don’t want you to feel compelled to give away your tactical advantages). I’m asking about spiritual emergencies.
This “loadout” is in my pocket just about everywhere I go.
A pocket Rosary…so I’m prepared in case I need to re-center in the middle of the day (or the middle of nowhere).
A challenge coin my youngest son gave me for Christmas one year…so I can always remember one of my most important “why’s.”
A few dollars…so I’m always prepared to help if I see someone in need.
There’s usually an individual “Dude Wipe” in that pocket as well. If you know, you know, and if you “don’t know,” consider it. That kind of “freshness” is pretty amazing.
Butt, I’m not here to advertise (see what I did there).
I’m here to simply ask a question.
What’s in your “hip pocket” that prepares you for emergencies?
The real question isn't: "Are you armed?"
But:
"Are you ready?"
Because sooner or later, the emergency will come.
The phone will ring.
The diagnosis will arrive.
Your kid will need you.
Your marriage will hit turbulence.
A friend will call at 2:00 in the morning.
You'll find yourself standing in the middle of somebody else's crisis with absolutely no time to run home and get your gear.
That's when you discover what's actually in your hip pocket.
Not the stuff you've intended to learn.
Not the virtues you've intended to practice.
Not the prayer life you're intended to develop.
What you've actually put there.
The Rosary.
The habit of prayer.
The memory of your "why."
The willingness to serve.
The courage to stop and listen.
The humility to ask for help.
The faith to say, "Lord, I don't know what to do—but You do."
That's the loadout.
And here's the beautiful part:
You don't build it when the emergency arrives.
You build it beforehand.
That's what formation is.
That's what this whole reconnaissance mission has been about.
We're not trying to become men who are never afraid.
We're becoming men who know where to turn when we are afraid.
We're not trying to become men who can solve every problem.
We're becoming men who know Who to trust when we can't.
We're not trying to eliminate every emergency.
We're learning how to walk into the emergency carrying something more durable than confidence.
Faith.
So check your "pockets," soldiers.
Check your heart.
Check your formation.
Because someday somebody is going to look at you in the middle of the storm and ask the oldest tactical question in the book:
"Are you ready?"
And I hope your answer isn't just, "I think so."
I hope you can reach into that spiritual hip pocket...
feel the beads...
remember the mission...
remember Whose you are...
and smile.
"As long as I've got my hip pocket, I've got something in it."
And as long as you've got Christ...
you've got everything you need for the next step.
Now quit checking your gear and get back on the trail.
The emergency isn't the mission.
Becoming the man who can meet it faithfully is.
Forward into the breach.
And Friends..
Keep something holy in your hip pocket.
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