stepping up to the plate

when you step up to the plate
there is no place to hide
it is you vs. the pitcher and catcher

you have no control over what comes at you
fastball
change up
slider
curve ball
sinker
screwball
cutter 
(I had to look those last two up)

you do have control over how you react to what comes your way
let it pass
or swing

if you watch it pass you by the umpire has the final say

ball
strike

if you cower

if a teammate has made a dirty play
if the ball gets away from the pitcher
you may get hit by the ball 
and automatically get to first base

most of the time you have to work to get on base
concentrate and let the bad balls go past
concentrate and hit a good pitch
sometimes, because of a fielding error 
you get on base

sometimes I think life is like that

things get thrown at us that we have no control over

sometimes we take the bad pitch 
sometimes we swing at it
sometimes we get hit by it
sometimes we connect and get a base hit
sometimes we connect well and hit "it" out of the park

the thing is,
in baseball if you are hitting .300
(that's getting on base three out of ten times)
you are considered a good hitter,
valuable

with that stat in mind
I think we need to be kinder to ourselves 
and to others 

this judging life stuff that is coming our way is hard to gauge

sometimes we will let the "bad stuff" pass us by
sometimes we will swing at it
sometimes we will make it to first base
or hit a double
maybe a triple
perhaps a bunt or sacrifice fly is what is required
occasionally we will make connections that are home runs

and sadly, sometimes we will strike out
the important thing is that we keep stepping into the box
and keep taking chances

By the way-did you know God is a baseball fan?
It is recorded in Genesis.
"In the Big inning" :)

that is totally a joke

I am not kidding when I say God is interested in our life,
He is cheering us on to faithfulness
coaching us on how to live to please and honor Him

In life,
God is the umpire.
He has the final say
about whether what we did with what is thrown at us 
was "good" or "bad".