Believe it or not, back in the day I was a baseball star. That is, in my backyard.
My Opa was the real baseball star, a pitcher drafted by the Milwaukee Braves (yes, before they were the Brewers) back in the day. So naturally, we have a strong affinity toward what others refer to as “watching paint dry.” From Opa, we inherited a death-do-us-part love for the Cubs — it’s not that we hated the Cardinals or any of their fans, it’s just that they were at the “bottom of our love list.”
Dad spent so many hours in the backyard and at local diamonds teaching us to field balls, catch pop flys, and never to “chop wood” when we were at bat. I even invented my own type of pitch: the crossfire curveball. It was impossible to hit, because it never crossed the plate! Ha!
I love the way God speaks our language, using old stories and sweet memories to teach us new things about his heart. We were singing a very familiar set last Sunday and I told God I wanted him to show me something new and fresh about him. I felt him tell me—
“Today is like all those times playing baseball in the backyard with your dad. You did the same drills, played the same game, but you loved doing it because you were with your dad. That’s where you got to know how much he cares for you. That’s where you learned to fail and know that you’re still loved. That’s where you learned you can’t disappoint him. That’s where you learned to trust him, so that later on in life you could do those same things outside of the comfort of the backyard.
“Today is like that with Me. We may be singing the same familiar songs, but I’m going to use them to keep solidifying to you who I am. The more you learn to trust Me here by singing of who I am, the more you’ll be able to trust Me when it doesn’t feel comfortable. So today, just enjoy singing with Me, just like a game of baseball in the backyard with dad.”