Put Me In Coach

The last time I took such a long break in my blog entries it was for the worst of reasons. I was at the lowest point of my life and had no one to share with but my readers. Just as I had learned to hit the fastball after all of these years, life threw me a curve and, not only did I go down swinging, I looked foolish doing it. So I went through a stretch where I just refused to step up to the plate. Sure, I found myself in the on deck circle with plenty of opportunities to move into the batters box, but I never felt like I was ready. Then my name was announced and they began to play my walk-up song. At the time that song was Toby Mac's song Move (Keep Walking). I was motivated. I was determined. And I knew I could hit the curve. 

I was wrong. 

Determination goes a long way in life. I can be determined to be an All-Star baseball player but without the training and skills it's never going to happen. I had the desire to be all that God wanted me to be. And I had reached the place in my life where I was seeing the curves, but I still did not know how to connect. That's when God had me realize that sometimes you have to lay off of certain pitches and wait for yours. So I waited. And I let Him train me to identify what my pitch was.

When you train for any event you have to start with the basics and work your way up to facing live competition. In baseball it is batting practice. So God put me through batting practice. He allowed me to see the curves and recognize which ones were my pitches and which ones were not. Some curves were in the strike zone, but they weren't "my pitch" no matter how good they looked. So I learned patience. Finally, He saw I was ready. 

I stepped up in this game and the walk-up song had changed. It was now telling my heart to beat again. So with determination and training I was ready. And then I saw it. The most beautiful curves I had ever seen. With eyes wide open I stepped into the pitch and I connected. At first I was stunned that I had made any contact at all. Then I saw that I had hit this one out of the park. 

I'm circling the bases now. And I've finally been able to make it home again. 

It feels good. 

So much came from so little

You can learn a lot from a little. The scripture tells us that if we simply had the faith of a mustard seed we could move a mountain. While some may see this as a sign of how little faith we have I prefer to look at it as to how much faith we could have. If faith can be as small as a mustard seed then imagine what faith the size of a sunflower seed or even a walnut could do. I began to think about seeds that have been planted in my life along the way. Then that led me to think about the very nature of seeds. And here is what I have learned. 

1. Not all seeds will produce what they were intended to produce immediately. 

A seed, once planted, takes some time to germinate. It must be watered and fed on a daily basis. Some seeds can sprout within a few days but more tend to sprout over a longer period of time. Why is this? Why don't all seeds germinate in the same length of time? When a seed is planted and watered it takes some time for the water and nutrients to work their way through the outer shell and into that portion of the seed that needs to activate. For some seeds with a soft shell the activation may happen sooner while harder shells may take a little while longer.

2. A seed must be planted in the right soil

Surrounded by bad soil, seeds may never grow. If they do grow the end result will usually wither and die. Surrounded by good soil a seed can grow and even flourish. 

What is planted in our hearts can be the same way. If we build up walls around our hearts like a thick shell we may keep the bad out but we also keep the good from reaching what God intended to grow there. 

3. Some seeds can be crushed but that doesn't mean they are useless

Sometimes a heart is broken and what's inside is exposed to a number of things. Some can be good. Some are not so healthy. If the unhealthy reaches the inside first, what grows will not be pretty and it will eventually die. But if it is exposed to good then something healthy can grow. But what if what has happened is so bad that the shell around your heart becomes too thick for anything to get through?  How can anything grow when the hurt has been so great that we would never consider letting the walls down?

4. Sometimes, even through the toughest shell, life can happen suddenly

When it comes to gardening there is a solution to the problem of getting a seed to produce quickly. Using a process called seed scarification the shells of the seeds can be shaved, sanded, or clipped to allow the nutrients to get to the heart of the seed more quickly. 

I believe sometimes God has to shave, sand, or clip our shells to get through to us. The blessings He has for you may not occur until after the pain has. It didn't for Job.

Would you consider letting God shave away that part of you that you have built up to keep the pain away?  What if He already has? Can you make a point of letting the  heart of your seed be exposed to all of that around you? Try it? Ask God to whittle away the bad and expose the heart to that which is good. When you do, you will be surprised at what can quickly sprout up from your heart.

I know I am.