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Dr. Mallard’s Unfair Advantage

Today I have a great story, and I think that for all of you, it’s going to bless you and it’s also going to trigger some real creative thinking that you’ll want to take back to your outpost and use to help empower your young men at the outpost. And before I get started on the story, I do have to give a little bit of a set up for this. So some of you, if you’ve heard a lot of the shows you’ll have heard me talk a little bit about my son who was in the Ranger program from kindergarten all the way through and got his GMA and went to college. And that’s Chandler, but maybe you haven’t heard me talk about that it was actually, while he went to college is, and just get started in college down there, but he was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease and ended up having a very kind of serious bout with that. And it was really everywhere. I mean, everywhere that you can have Crohn’s in your body, he had it.

Comander Randy:

And so we were very nervous and scared and, just as any parent would normally be, and just walk through that whole path of getting him the care he needed and then just prayerfully asking God to just work in his life and to heal him. And some of you, probably most of you, have experienced similar things, whether in your own life or with your own kids, or your family’s kids, cousins, and nephews and things like that. So you’ll be able to empathize, know what I’m talking about there. So remember that little setup story as I get into the story of Dr. Mallard and his unfair advantage.

Comander Randy:

So also have you’ve heard me talk, I love to run and have been an avid runner for a long time. And there’s a couple of really great places in Lakeland, matter of fact, the place where most people go to run in Lakeland is Lake Hollingsworth. And I didn’t know this until it was in one of the magazines, running magazines that it ranked in the top 50 paths in the country. So I was like, “Wow, man, that’s crazy.” For us it seems very normal, but it is a great course. It’s 5k and it’s really mapped out well. And it’s full of all kinds of wildlife. Here in Florida, you can see all kinds of birds, and alligators, and everything else that comes along.

Comander Randy:

So, but anyway, I had actually parked pretty far away from the lake at this particular night. And when I was headed back to my car in the parking lot, again, many hundred yards away from the lake, there was this tiny little duck, just walking, struggling to walk in the parking lot. And it was covered in weeds. I mean this thing was about the same size as an egg. And by the way, go to the show notes at The Ranger Podcast. And you’ll get to see some pictures of Dr. Mallard.

Comander Randy:

So I brought this home in a box. I just didn’t feel good about… I thought this thing, an owl, this thing’s going to get eaten in just a matter of hours. And so I put it in a box and I kind of thought, well, this is going to be pretty easy, right? I’m at Lake Hollingsworth, there’s also another adjacent lake. I’m going to be able to find a group of ducks, a mom with her babies, and I’m going to put this duck back and all things are going to be good.

Comander Randy:

So I began to circle the lake in my car. I couldn’t find anything and went to an adjacent lake, nothing. I was like, “What is going on here?” It was getting late, had to go home. So I took it home and my wife was like, “What are you doing with this baby duck?” And cutest little thing. I mean, again, I’m telling you got to look at the pictures, he’s cutest little thing. So we thought, well, you know what? Let’s take care of it through the night, make it comfortable. And then tomorrow evening, when it’s lighter, I’ll go back and make the same search.

Comander Randy:

And so we did this for a couple of nights and just nothing. I could not find a home for this duck. And so we thought, “Okay, tell you what? Ducks grow really, really quickly. Let’s get some food, we’ll go on the internet, take a little crash course on how to raise a duck. And we’ll get this thing healthy and kind of a teenage duck. And we’ll put it back out in the wild.” So we were going to raise this thing, get it healthy. And so that started our journey with Dr. Mallard.

Comander Randy:

And by the way, we were so hopeful that this thing, this duck was going to be a Mallard, one of these really beautiful Mallard ducks that you see all the pictures and people take photographs of. Well, as Dr. Mallard began to grow, we realized that this was no Mallard, that it was just kind of a common Muscovy. And we thought she was still a good looking duck and all this kind of stuff.

Comander Randy:

But we also have a golden retriever at home. And so it was amazing. I mean, we would literally come home at night and this thing had doubled in size. And I mean, it wasn’t long before this thing was outgrowing everything that we tried to keep it in to the point that it was living on the porch. But in the evening when we got home, it lived in the house and it became buddies with our dog and she would try and swim in the dog’s food bowl and eat out of our dog’s bowl. And she would sit and watch TV with us and we’d take it out for walks in the yard. And she’d chase us in the yard and run around. And then we bought a kiddie pool for her and all of those kinds of things.

Comander Randy:

Well, the time came when I thought, “I’m getting a little concerned about this duck because we don’t live on a lake.” So even though we live in the town called Lakeland, you can go figure there, right. But I was beginning to worry that this duck had no idea that it was a duck. I thought this is going to be trouble. So I decided that I was going to take it over to my brother’s house, who actually did live on a lake. And I thought, “Well, let’s at least get it acclimated to the water.” I mean, come on. This is a duck of all things. I mean, giant webbed feet made for swimming in the water.

Comander Randy:

And so I got his canoe out. I put Dr. Mallard in the canoe and we paddled out and then I picked her up and, or him, we didn’t really know what the sex was, but anyway. And I put her in the water and man, she hated it. She could not wait to get back in the canoe. And I tried to paddle away from her, and then she chased me, and then she wound up swimming into some weeded area. And I was like, “Oh man, this is not good.” So I tried that for a little while.

Comander Randy:

And literally over the next week, I kept going back to my brother’s house to try get this duck that’s supposed to be… I mean, we’ve heard the expression, as a duck to water. I mean, this is the most natural thing, right. And I kept trying to get this duck to like the water and I mean, it would just race to the bank and get out.

Comander Randy:

And so we were in real trouble here. And so my next thing was, I thought, “You know what? I’m going to go, there’s a famous lake in Lakelands called Lake Morton. And it’s a bird sanctuary. I mean, there’s all kinds of ducks on this lake. There’s swans. They have swan bins and nests. And there’s this part of the city that actually takes care of all of this and cares for the lake and the water and feeds them. I mean, this is the greatest possible place that a duck could live. And so I thought, “Okay, I’ll drive the duck.” Put the duck in the passenger seat, drove her down to Lake Morton. And I was like, “Well, I’m going to at least going to introduce her to her own kind.”

Comander Randy:

So I get her out and I’m bringing her food with her. And I think, “Well, this will help me to not only coax her, but as soon as the other ducks saw food.” Well, it was a terrible experience because the other ducks hated her and they were going after her. And I mean, she literally just ran and jumped in my arms. And so I had to put her back in the and the funny story was, is that I… Here I have this duck under my arm, like I’m carrying a football. And there was a city truck that I guess kind of caught out of the rear view mirror that I was carrying this duck to my car. And I see him kind of… And I’m like, “Oh no, he’s going to try and thinks I’m taking a duck. And then I got to try and explain myself.” So I’m not suggesting this was the most Ranger-like thing to do, but I put it in drive and took off because I just thought, “You know what? I’m trying to help this duck out. Just give me a chance here.” And lost him a couple of turns later. But anyway.

Comander Randy:

So then I go home, I report this to Carla and she’s just laughing at me the whole time. But so I had decided I’m going to make another attempt. I’m going to go back. And I did this a couple of times and it got better, right. And on one of the times that I took Dr. Mallard down there, there was a couple walking a dog, and she really got startled as this couple approached us. And all the other ducks around us just immediately, man, they just raced to the water, right. I mean, this is their unfair advantage. I mean, they can out swim a dog in the water and most ducks can fly a little bit. So come on, this is the greatest moment, duck.

Comander Randy:

And what does Dr. Mallard do? Runs for the road. So I’m chasing after this duck trying to grab her up before she winds up in the middle of the road with traffic. And of course now everybody’s laughing at me and wondering why I’m chasing this duck and have this duck. And so I have to tell part of the story to everybody I meet, this Dr. Mallard. But I’m sitting there on the drive home thinking to myself, “What is going on here, duck? This is your moment. Go to the water. You have an unfair advantage on everybody.”

Comander Randy:

And that was what began to puzzle me. And so over the months to come… Or I’m sorry, over the weeks to come, I would continue to go back and I would continue to take Dr. Mallard to my brother’s house. And again, while all this is happening, I mean, this thing is growing so fast. I mean, I have to go back and look at my notes to see the actual timeframe, but in 30 days, I mean, this thing was probably twice the size of a football. I mean really outgrowing most of the ducks, most of the mallards on the lake.

Comander Randy:

But there’s a great finish to the story, but so hang in there, cause I really want you to hear this message from one of our business sponsors, who you’re really going to love. And so listen up and I’ll be right back.

Comander Randy:

All right. And we’re back. And thank you for taking a listen to that. We have a couple of business partners that we’ve so appreciated their help in events that we’ve done in The Ranger Podcast and just giveaways that we’d done. Kershaw Knives have helped out and Wise Owl Outfitters, even just a recent event. We went to, we were invited to come to a GMA ceremony and we wanted to make sure for the… They were actually five being honored that night. And so Wise Owl Outfitters really helped us with some gifts to give away to the boys that were getting their metals that night.

Comander Randy:

But the Dating Divas is a really great site. I mean, if you’ve heard us talk, you know that date night is hugely important. And this site, thedatingdivas.com have a lot of resources. They’re just wonderful people that really care about marriage and your marriage life. And so I encourage you to check them out and they’ll be links on the show.

Comander Randy:

And by the way, there’s also, that we’ve done a podcast with them. So you can go there, but also I’ll add it to this show notes as well. They offer a free gift there too. So to any Royal Ranger listener or Royal Ranger commander, so head on over and take advantage of that because I think you’ll really enjoy it.

Comander Randy:

All right. So here’s the wrap up to this really great story. And I know this is how God works in your lives as well, but I never thought that it would take a duck that I found at the lake to teach me such a valuable lesson in God’s economy and the way he operates, and the way he operates in and around our lives.

Comander Randy:

So let me come back to Chandler, because if you’ve ever had a sick child, all you really want for them is to get better. All you really want for them is to be free from this burden. Something that would burden you every day and be something that would touch every part of your life as you traveled or went out. And this is something that nobody wishes for anybody. And again, you would just pray that God would step in.

Comander Randy:

And Dr. Mallard and his unfair advantage really helped me to understand Chandler’s illness differently. And God has been so faithful and he’s done so much to bring Chandler to some of the best, I mean, the best doctors and caregivers and has also provided us with some medication that would be extraordinarily expensive if we had to pay for it on our own, and really connected the dots to be able to get us on a plan. And that medication has really helped Chandler tremendously, tremendously.

Comander Randy:

But let me share this with you. And I think that if you begin to look at this perspective, you’ll find boys in your outpost that fit this perfectly. But each one of us, we can listen to somebody, a story like this, where somebody has something like Crohn’s disease and we can empathize, and we can walk into a room. If I walk into a room, a hospital room and there’s somebody there, maybe somebody at church, their son or daughter has been diagnosed with Crohn’s. I can walk in that room and I can really empathize and I can talk to them intelligently and be very sincere and sympathetic. And I can pray and meet their prayer needs that way. But here’s what I want to tell you, that when Chandler walks in that room, he has an unfair advantage because when he says… Looks at them in the eye and he says, “I know exactly what you’re going through.” It’s different.

Comander Randy:

He can speak to them directly, somebody that’s walking their walk and stepping every day in their shoes. And it’s different. I really believe that one day Chandler will be completely healed from his Crohn’s. But until that day, I do believe that God will use this unfair advantage that he has to speak into people’s lives. And he has, he’s met several people, numerous people with Crohn’s disease. And he has a way of talking that none of us that haven’t experienced it personally can talk to.

Comander Randy:

And so as you go back to your outposts and you look around the room… And again, we say this all the time, that every set of eyes is a story. And that’s what Royal Rangers does. It provides us a platform to build relationships and learn and understand and hear those stories. And I can assure you that there’s some young men in your outpost that have an unfair advantage.

Comander Randy:

They may not have seen it that way yet. They may see it as a burden, as a disability, something that’s holding them back, but that’s not the way God sees it. We’re going to pray for all of them. We’re going to pray for whatever their need is that God’s going to miraculously show up and show off and rescue people through those miracles. But until that day, they can use that unfair advantage to speak directly into people’s lives and express the love of Christ and do it in a way that none of us can.

Comander Randy:

And so I hope you’ll take this story and it encourages you. And it’s a little funny and again, I never thought a little baby duck at the lake would teach me this lesson, but I’m thankful for God that it did. And I think you understand what I mean when I say that, I think this will trigger a lot of you to have a creative way to think about what some of your young men are facing and how God can really use that to minister.