Amazing Center Fielder

"So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."  Isaiah 41:10

I was fortunate enough to grow up in a town with a FANTASTIC high school softball coach.  Although I was a "four sporter" in high school, softball was something I did because I loved it, not because I was great at it.  I told my seventh grade students this year that I made the record books in high school for strike outs.  They were thinking I was awesome or "sick" in a good way (I'm getting old), until I told them I wasn't a pitcher and was talking about striking out as a batter.  Yep, I would swing for the fence every time.  Sometimes it did go over, but a lot of the time I missed the ball.

Now I enjoy watching baseball and softball with a greater appreciation for the massive wealth of knowledge my coach taught us about the game.  I feel like I would be a great softball coach because of everything I learned from my coach, except I would never be able to hit fly balls.  (see whiffing story above)

One of the things he was adamant about was communication on the field.  Everyone was talking constantly.  I particularly remember that when the ball was in the air, someone on the field was screaming "I've got it!" as loud as they could.  Because this was ingrained in our brains, we took delight in moments where the other team missed simple fly balls because of lack of communication on the field.  We've all seen it somewhere-bloopers reels, little league, even the majors at times-lack of communication and the ball simply falls, no one catches it.  When they show a replay, you can see it in the players' faces.  Everyone thinks someone else is going to catch it and no one says anything.  A horrible moment for the fielding team.

In my day-to-day life, I live in fear of this happening.  So many life experiences have taught me to fear the ball coming.  I get so nervous that it is going to drop, that I don't have confidence in myself or confidence that life will be okay.  I am just plain-old scared of life's circumstances.

We all have that fly ball hanging over our heads in some form or another.  Finances, jobs, relationships, disappointments...

...but we have a secret weapon on our team.

Jesus is in center field.

He is our MVP, our go-to guy.  He doesn't drop the ball.  And he is coming barreling in at full speed shouting, "I got it, I've got this!"  He will catch whatever hit you are expecting to drop, and He won't miss.  You don't have to be afraid, but can walk with confidence knowing you play for the winning team.  Your teammate makes you strong.  Everything will turn out okay.