Writer’s note: This is the eleventh in the series: The Stories of My Life.
Recently, I heard it said that we should not be jealous of a team that is having a winning season – because we don’t know what they had to endure during their losing season to become a winner! Wow!
Each of our lives are filled with the pain of losing seasons. They are what define us, give us character, teach us the hard lessons, and force us to make the necessary adjustments. Without the losing seasons we would never learn how to win. It’s only when we learn how to extract and apply the value gleaned from our losses that we learn how to win!
I also heard it said recently that God doesn’t give a person a dream without giving them the ability to achieve it. This doesn’t make success automatic. It doesn’t mean that failure won’t be a constant companion. It simply means that somewhere deep inside each of us, God has placed the ability to realize the dream He has given. The question is whether or not we’ll persevere until we discover it.
It may come as a surprise to you, but I do have some regrets about my life. One of the biggest regards my eldest son, Jonathan. To be totally honest with you, I sacrificed him on the “altar of church.” Sadly, there was always a meeting I felt I needed to attend, a visit to make, or a sermon to be prepared. Lord, if I could do it over, a whole lot of things that I thought were so important – would be put on the backburner and my son would be my top priority!
As badly as I messed-up, I didn’t totally blow it with him. He played Little League Baseball. He was a pitcher and an infielder – and he was good! I made it a priority to practice with him and to invest as much of my time into him as possible. On summer afternoons, when I would come home, he and I would walk into the front yard. I had made a makeshift Homeplate. I would set up behind it and have him pitch to me. My constant reminder to him was, “Son, throw the ball to the glove.” Then, I would hit the baseball to him. However, before I did, I would give him a gameday scenario and make him tell me what he was going to do with the ball when he fielded it.
It was the last game of the regular season. As fate would have it, if his team won, they would go to the all-star game. If not, they went home. He was the starting pitcher. It was the top of the last inning and they were leading one to nothing. Three outs and they would win. To the horror of everyone present, including me, he walked the bases loaded with no outs. The coach came out to the pitchers’ mound and talked with him. He said, “Win or lose, it’s your game. I’m leaving you in.” Marianne looked at me and in a panicked voice said, “Well, don’t just sit there; do something!” So, I came out of the bleachers and walked to the fence on the third base side of the field. I propped up on it and called his name. I said, “Son, listen to your daddy. Tune everything else out. It’s just you and me in the front yard. Son, throw the ball to the glove.” He struck out the next three batters!
The Spiritual takeaways from this column are numerous. First, there are times in life that, despite our good intentions, we just flat blow it – and it’s painful! Secondly, we all need somebody to invest themselves and their time into us and teach us how to do what we’re supposed to do. Thirdly, we all need somebody to believe in us, despite how bleak our current situation appears. Fourthly, we all need somebody to remind us that God has placed within us the ability to achieve the dream He has given us. And finally, we need somebody to remind us to tune out all the noise around us and simply throw the ball to the glove! And even if we don’t win, we will learn that there is great value – even in our losing seasons!
Brother Aaron