Springtime!
Play ball!
I realize that we are living in a time when football seems to be king in our country. And yet, I grew up in an era when baseball was know as “America’s Favorite Pastime.” Baseball was America’s game.
As a young boy, I loved sports.
Though I never possessed the physical size to excel in football, I loved baseball.
I remember arriving at the required age to “try out” for a Little League team. A bright, sunny day, welcomed dozens of kids clustered in an open field, waiting for their big chance. It was an exciting day, to say the least, but nerves had the better part of me.
“What if I wasn’t good enough?”
“What if I struck out?”
“Just do your best.”
“Okay, I can do this.”
A couple of days after the tryout, I received a call from Mr. Stephens, one of the coaches, telling me that I was selected to be on his team, and we would begin practicing the following week.
Wow! I did it. I really did it. I made the team.
Now, no one dared mention to me that everyone who came to the tryout, made one of the teams. No one told me, and I really didn’t need to know. All I needed to know was, I made the team.
It was a fun time, and I loved playing. As I got older and progressed in the game, the pitchers began adding a little something extra to the ball. Something I didn’t have to consider in the beginning.
A curveball — what was that?
It didn’t take long to figure out that when the ball was released from the pitcher, it started in one direction, but ended up in a different spot.
Curveballs happen quickly, and reaction must happen quickly, also.
In the Major Leagues, the distance from the pitcher’s mound to home plate is 60 feet, 6 inches. (I only went there in my dreams.) The average speed for a fastball in the Majors is 90-95 mph. Though, a curveball does not move quite that fast, it does cover that 60 feet in a hurry.
In life, things often happen rapidly. Swift reaction is needed. Just when it appears life is headed in one direction, suddenly it’s going in a completely different direction.
Bam — curveball!
Life is good. You have all your plans in place. What could possibly go wrong!
Bam — curveball!
Didn’t see that coming!
Swing and a miss.
Strike one.
Within a few days, another curveball, — missed again, strike two.
Before you know it, something else happens and you feel like you’ve struck out.
If only it wouldn’t have curved, I think I could have managed.
George Herman “Babe” Ruth Jr, regarded as one of the greatest sports heroes in American culture and considered by many to be the greatest baseball player of all time, held the home run record for years. What many people do not realize is that he also held the strikeout record for years. When Ruth was asked about this he simply said, “Every strike brings me closer to the next home run.”
Joseph, one of my personal favorites in the Bible, had a dream, but before that dream came to pass, life threw him a lot of curves. He had many opportunities to strike out, but Joseph never stopped, and one day his dream was fulfilled — home run.
How do you respond when life suddenly goes in a different direction than what you had planned?
Never give up, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn. (Harriet Beecher Stowe)
Be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded. (2 Chronicles 15:7)
So, how do you hit a curveball?
Keep your eye on the ball, and just keep swinging.
God does not allow strikeouts.
Curveball, fastball, or whatever comes your way, never let the fear of striking out keep you from swinging.
I’m still swinging, and I’m . . .
Still Believing!
