Tag Archives: Baseball

Chapter-a-Day

Chapter-a-Day 1 Peter 3

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Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners to bring you safely home to God. 1 Peter 3:18a (NLT)

Wendy and I are sports fans. We follow our teams and enjoy watching them through the seasons. This means it’s been busy the past few weeks as baseball season is winding down, but football season is in full swing. The result is that we’re watching a lot of sports on television and the DVR is working overtime recording shows and movies that we likely won’t get to until after the fall classic.

Though we love watching many different sports, my love of baseball has grown over the years while my love of other sports has waned. There are a number of reasons for this. Baseball, more than any other sport, is a metaphor for life. It is a day-by-day journey that starts with the promise of life each spring and ends (especially for Cubs fans) with the harsh realities of death and disappointment each fall leaving hope of resurrection “next year.” Within the long journey there are highs and lows. Even the worst of teams pull together a few winning streaks and the best of teams are going to experience a host of disappointing losses. The best of the best hitters fail seven out of ten times at the plate. The greatest of pitchers give up a home run now and then.

While I love all these things about baseball, the one thing that I’ve come to appreciate most is the simple object of the game: making it home safely. It is the same objective that this wayfaring stranger has as I day-by-day walk my journey through this world of woe. You’ll even find it in the banner of my blog. It is the same way Peter summarizes the message of Jesus in today’s chapter: Jesus died on a cross and suffered as a sacrifice for ours sins once for all and did so in order to bring we sinners safely home.

Those who’ve walked with me for a long time have watched me hit a few home runs but have more often seen me strike out swinging. I’ve been hit by pitches and have stolen a few bases. I’ve also dropped some easy pop flies. Nevertheless, I get up early each morning with the promise that it’s a new day. I can’t do anything about yesterday’s bitter loss. I can only do my best in today’s game as I make my way toward the inevitable winter that slowly approaches.

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Chapter-a-Day

Chapter-a-Day Psalm 19

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The sun rises at one end of the heavens
    and follows its course to the other end.
    Nothing can hide from its heat.
Psalm 19:6 (NLT)

There days on this chapter-a-day journey that a verse will jump off the page at me because it seems so apt for the moment. It may or may not have any deeply spiritual meaning, it is just so true for the day, or the hour, or the season in which I find myself.

So it was with the verse above. As I sit to write this post in the summer of 2012 we have been suffering through record high temperatures and serious drought conditions. Nothing and no one can hide from the sun’s intense heat. Last night, Wendy and I braved the heat and headed out to the ball game at Principal Park. From our seats behind home plate we watched the setting sun glaring off the gold dome and windows of the gorgeous Iowa State Capitol Building.

It’s hot and dry and uncomfortable. But this season too, shall pass. It’s part of the natural order of the seasons that God, the Creator, put into motion. So, I dressed cool. I ordered another cold beverage. I enjoyed the great summer pastime as the I-Cubs won a pitchers’  duel against the visitors in extra-innings. It wasn’t the most comfortable evening we’ve spent overlooking Sec Taylor Field, but I honestly don’t have a complaint.

Today I’m reminded to make the most of this day and this season, no matter where it finds me on the journey.

Chapter-a-Day

Chapter-a-Day Hebrews 11

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Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see. Hebrews 11:1 (NLT)

A few years ago, Wendy and I had the good fortune of visiting friends just a few miles from Cooperstown, NY. We took the opportunity to drive to the Baseball Hall of Fame where we spent the day wandering through the museum there. We still talk about that day and how much fun we had.

I recalled that day as I read today’s chapter because it is a Hall of Fame of sorts for those historical characters who lived by faith. They were sure of what God asked of them and believed what they could not see or prove. We know very little about them or their lives other than the few strands that have been handed down to us through God’s Message.

I’ve often heard young ball players talk about their heroes from Cooperstown and how they strove to emulate them in their lives and the way they play the game. I always think it’s cool when young players find themselves in the Show for the first time playing alongside star players and future Hall of Famers that they grew up watching on television. I can only imagine what a mind-bending feeling that must be. We all need heroes in whose footsteps we can follow.

I know there are people who scratch their heads at my spiritual journey; There are those who wonder why I’m so into this God thing. Part of it, at least, is looking back at the timeless stories of people like Noah, Abraham, Rahab, Matthew, Peter, Paul as well as lesser known stories like that of Bonhoeffer, Lewis, Ten Boom or even the unknown stories of my grandparents and great-grandparents. Heralded or not, their lives counted for something much greater than themselves. They lived lives of belief and not of doubt. They acted on an inner assurance that what they could not see was more important than what they could. They belong in a Hall of Fame of eternal significance, and in the grand scheme of things I want to follow in those footsteps.

Chapter-a-Day

Chapter-a-Day James 5

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Dear brothers and sisters, be patient as you wait for the Lord’s return. Consider the farmers who patiently wait for the rains in the fall and in the spring. They eagerly look for the valuable harvest to ripen. James 5:7 (NLT)

As I read this verse from today’s chapter I thought about the season of Advent. Our church is focusing on the Christian calendar this year, so the messages leading up to Christmas have been about Advent, which is a latin word meaning “coming” or “revealing.” It’s the season of expectation prior to Christmas as we await the coming of the birth of Jesus.

As I read this verse in today’s chapter I thought about the warm autumn rain that’s been falling for the past day here in Iowa. The fields are brown and death-like, and yet there is already anticipation of next year’s crop. The moisture is a welcome sight for farmers who are waiting and already thinking and planning for planting next Spring.

As I read this verse in today’s chapter I thought about my dinner conversation last night with Wendy. With our Vikings at a miserable 2-11, we are already talking about baseball and all of the changes for our beloved Cubs this off season. Christmas is almost here, then  a sojourn through January. February means the beginning of Spring Training and suddenly it doesn’t seem that far away.

Through the journey I’ve learned that I can be an impatient person. I don’t like waiting. God’s timing is so rarely my timing. More often than not I find myself waiting and expecting. It is woven into the fabric of the journey. We stand on the path, but our eyes stare ahead to the horizon.

God, help me to find the balance between contentment and expectation. Help me to balance my desire to get to my destination with the patience to appreciate the place that I find myself at the moment and accept all that the journey is creating within me.

Wayfarer's Journal

Date Weekend in the Twin Cities

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The Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis
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This past week I had to make a run to Minneapolis for meetings with a client, so Wendy and I decided to make it a date weekend to get away and have some time for just the two of us.

On Friday night we headed to the Minneapolis Children’s Theatre for a production of A Wrinkle in Time. The children’s book by Madeline L’Engle was (and still is) a favorite of Wendy’s. I was unfamiliar with the story, but later understood Wendy’s curiosity about how they would stage it. I found it to be a fascinating science fiction plot with a touching human message. I told Wendy afterwards that it reminded me of the original Star Trek: the cutting edge science of the day woven into an engaging story that explored social issues and, ultimately, human nature. As always, MCT did a masterful job and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

Saturday morning took us on a jaunt through IKEA to purchase some replacement glassware. Of course, you can’t visit the store without wandering and dreaming for a while. We ended up in downtown for a matinee performance of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing at the Guthrie Theatre [pictured]. Wendy and I were in Pella Shakespeare Company’s production of the show a few years ago, and it’s one of our favorites. It was fun to see it staged so differently, and so well.

I must admit that the weekend was nearly ruined – or at least severely damaged – when it was discovered that my on-line reservation for the hotel downtown was not completed. Wendy and I both remember me making the reservation, but I must not have completed it correctly and discovered that I never received a confirmation. So, let’s just say that there was no room at the inn we regularly stay at, love, and were expecting to enjoy [strike one]. In true male “fix-it” mode I quickly got on-line and made reservations at another hotel a mile away…without consulting Wendy [strike two]. After the show I immediately started driving us to our “new” hotel, once again,…without consulting Wendy [strike three – end of the inning].

The outlook wasn’t brilliant for me at that point. Yet, I’m happy to report that, in the end, the “new” hotel far exceeded our expectations [hit]. We found a wonderful little restaurant just a few blocks away and walked in the unseasonably warm evening weather to enjoy a romantic dinner [hit]. The following morning’s walk to the Metrodome for the Minnesota Vikings game was a lot longer than we anticipated (1.1 miles to be exact), but the warm weather was beautiful and the walk did us both good [walk]. We then had the pleasure of watching our beloved Vikings win their first game of the season from some excellent seats in the 9th row [GRAND SLAM!].

So, despite striking out in the late innings, I was overjoyed to have pulled out the victory with a walk-off (1.1 mile walk-off, mind you) homer in the bottom of the 9th. Which reminds me, in case you might not have picked up on it, Wendy and I also watched the baseball playoffs all weekend 😉

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Wayfarer's Journal

“Play Ball!”

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For the past few months of cold, snowy, gross grey days, Wendy and I have been waiting anxiously for today. Yesterday was opening day for baseball and today is the first game of the season for our beloved Cubs.

There’s still chill in the air, but the boys of summer are taking the field and it means that we’ve turned the corner. Good bye winter. Hello sunny afternoons at the ball park with the sound of a 95 m.p.h. fastball hitting the catchers mit, the crack of the bat, and the roar of the crowd spilling their beer and dropping their hot dogs when the hometown hero takes that hanging curveball over the plate and sends it sailing over the fence.

Play ball.

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There’s Always Next Year

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The I-Cubs missed the post season, losing their chances in the final game of the season on Labor Day. The Chi-Cubs are one step from the cellar and their days are numbered. The NFL season starts tonight. Wendy and I have broken out our purple and gold.

So long, Cubbie Bear. See you next spring when our hopes are made new again.

Chapter-a-Day

Chapter-a-Day Isaiah 66

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Rally cap. You'll see all this and burst with joy
   —you'll feel ten feet tall—
As it becomes apparent that God is on your side
   and against his enemies. Isaiah 66:14 (MSG)

A couple of years ago Wendy and I took Taylor and Clayton to an Iowa Cubs game. The game looked to be a real downer as the I-Cubs were losing by three runs going into the bottom of the ninth. Then, the four of us witnessed the quintessential baseball moment. It was Casey at the Bat come to life. The Cubs loaded the bases, and with two outs and the count full at 3 and 2, there was just one pitch to determine the outcome of the game. Everyone was on their feet. The crowd was going crazy. It happened. Our hometown boy knocked it out of the park for a Grand Slam to win the game. We walked out of the park that night feeling ten feet tall. I will never forget that game.

There is nothing quite like the moment of victory for an athlete or a fan. I think we all have experienced the thrill of victory at one time or another. The last second shot goes in. Coming from behind against impossible odds to win the match. A Hail Mary pass is caught in the end-zone.

God promised salvation through Jesus, and delivered in the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. He has also promised an ultimate victory for any who would believe. We will all know a bottom-of-the-ninth Grand Slam to rival no other. We will stand and feel ten feet tall as we witness God victorious.

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