"It is the bottom of the third, boys and if we don't scratch 4 out here and now, it is going to be a long night at the ballfield." Davis
That's what he told them in the dugout that night. It was the middle school county championship game. The first time in school history - a championship. Most non athlete persons think athlete persons take games way too seriously. Non athlete persons will always speak of competitiveness in a negative ways. And there is some truth in that. Many will use Jesus as an example of how "winning isn't everything" and it isn't. But it feels good. And Jesus did say the first will be last and the last will be first, but he was really talking about the poor, the downtrodden, the oppressed, the forgotten. Not athletes.
The writer of the Hebrew Epistle told his readers to run the race with endurance and patience. Paul told Timothy that he had fought the good fight, he had finished the race and now victory awaits. Baseball teaches alot about patience and waiting. Batters are often told to "sit back and wait on it." If a batter swings a second too early, he fouls it off. Just a nan o second. But with pitches coming across the plate from 60 feet at 85 to 90 miles a hour, waiting just does not seem prudent. But it is. It is the same way with God, I think. The psalmist tells us to "wait patiently on the Lord." Hard to do when life is coming at you fast and hard. Hard to do when you just want to see results. But waiting is prudent, very prudent.
Baseball also has the longest season of any sport. From April to October. 162 games. 21 post season games if you win the series. A long time. And that takes endurance. Baseball are also some of the longest games to watch. 9 innings usually, but they have been known to go 12. As the Hebrew writer says, endure. Endure. If you want victory in the spiritual life, endure. Hang in there, victory is coming.
Baseball has some of the funniest colloquialisms of all sports and they almost sound as if they come from Proverbs. One of my favorites is "you gotta wear that." It means if a pitch might hit you, you need to let it. It is an automatic base. Being hit by a 95 mile hour fast ball hurts like hell. It leaves a hematoma or it might break your face. But you gotta wear it to get on base. And the key to winning baseball games is not home runs, it is on pace percentage. Just ask Billy Bean and the Oakland As. Another favorite of mine, "needs you on base anyway you can." It means a walk is a as good as a hit. No base runners, no runs. That simple. Sometimes we make the spiritual life too complicated. God does not care so much how you pray, just pray. Just pray anyway you can. And sometimes the only prayers you can utter is "Thank you" and "Help".
I also love the phrase, "just eat it." When an error happens, sometimes the players try to over compensate and throw the ball toward the base anyway and this usually leads to more errors and more bases. It kind of snowballs. So, the best thing to do when you miss a play, pick the ball up and end the play. Just eat it. The spiritual life requires alot of "just eat it." So many times we want to say a harsh word, retaliate when someone is unkind, avenge the wrong. Usually it is just our feelings and pride involved and the best course of action is to "just eat it." Jesus was pretty clear about this when he told his listeners in the Sermon on the Mount, if your brother has offended you, ask him about it. Chances are he won't own up to it and Jesus says let it go. Let it go.
I also like the phrase, "scratch one out." In baseball, when you are down runs, instead of thinking about a grand slam home run, just get a hit and get on base and soon or later you will round third and score. One run at a time. Life is best lived this way. Just do one thing at a time. Don't focus on the enormous crisis at hand, just do the next thing required and eventually you will find yourself at home. One moment at a time. So much of life is lived in emergency mode and life is not a crisis. Slow down. See the moment.
Another favorite phrase of mine is "turn two boys." That means a double play. And should not kindness be acted out in that way. Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, if your brother needs a shirt, give him a coat too. Turn two. Turn two.
"See it and hit it." Love that phrase. You can not hit a ball you can not see. Most batters will tell you that they time their swing to the moment when they actually see the seams on the baseball. Pretty amazing. I have watched alot of pitches. Average baseball game, over 200 pitches are thrown. I have yet to see the seams. So I would suck at batting. Baseballs like life come at you pretty fast. We fail to see the wonder of the little things and fail to build our life on that wonder. The small moments. By appreciating the wonder of the moment, you slow time and then you can really begin to live and stop just existing.
Fans frequently tell the batter and the pitcher to battle. Win the battle. Come back and finish it. We are engaged in battle whether we believe it or not. We are fighting principalities, evil and rulers not of this world. We have to win the battle. Not the war, the war has already been won. But the battle still needs fighting. Good can still overcome evil. Love still wins every time. Sometimes, we give up too quickly. Victory is just within our reach and we don't dig deep and finish it. We give up. Never give up on a 0-2 count as a batter and never give up on 3-0 count as pitcher. Come back. Nothing is ever accomplished by giving in to pessimism. Nothing.
At the of the third inning, Davis' team had done just what he asked...4 runs. New game. That's what baseball players call it when you tie the score. New ballgame. New life. A Jesus is good about that...offering new life when all seems hopeless.
Someone once said, "Baseball is alot like church, many attend but few understand."
All is grace,
Kathleen
baseball championships
batting lessons
planting container gardens
nasturtiums beginning to come up
sunflowers beginning to show
cosmos beginning to show
yellow butterflies
robins living in my shed a whole family
lunch with a dear dear friend and sharing molten lava cake which i wore home
afternoon naps when it is raining
cleaning out closets
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