Stay In The Game
Baseball season is here. Maybe baseball isn’t your thing, but let me invite you to continue reading for a moment if you will.
I enjoy going to see the I-Cubs play once in awhile, and I’ve seen a couple of professional games, but the truth is, I’ve never been a huge baseball fan. Nonetheless, I became fascinated by Cal Ripken as he approached the game that broke the record for most consecutive games played. Ripken played his entire career with the Baltimore Orioles. He was a 19-time All-Star and was twice named American League Most Valuable Player. Ripken holds the record for consecutive games played at 2,632. This surpassed Lou Gehrig’s streak of 2,130 that had stood for 56 years and that many deemed unbreakable. His record of 2,632 straight games played may stay in the books forever, and he will certainly be remembered forever as a legend in the game.
Most sports records are set when a player gets on a hot streak — he has a good game or a good month or even a good season. Ripken’s record is the result of a “hot streak” that lasted more than 16 years. Day after day he simply took the next step in the right direction, one game at a time.
I watched a short documentary on his work ethic and how he would diligently practice during the off season to be better prepared for the upcoming season.
Something many people don’t know about Ripken is that during his first year as a pro — while playing minor league ball in West Virginia — he made his mark in a different way: he committed a league-leading 33 errors at short-stop.
It wasn’t a good start, and since his dad was already well-known in the world of baseball, critics said he was just an over-rated kid, not good enough for life in the big leagues. But Cal kept taking one more step in the right direction, one game at a time. Later in his career he went 95 consecutive games without making an error, and committed only three in an entire season — another record he holds. Ripken’s habit of taking one more step took him on a journey from worst to first.
The thing about that kind of journey is that you don’t have to be a “star” to take it. It’s a journey that all of us can take, with God’s help.
God wants to pour out His grace in your life. He wants to change you through and through. That habit you’ve struggled with…..He wants to help you overcome it. Those dreams that haven’t come about yet…..He wants to help make them reality. The struggles you have……He wants to give you victory over them, along with the power to live the life of your dreams. Today, if you feel like you’re the worst, He wants to help you move in the direction of becoming first.
Psalm 121:2 says: My help comes from the LORD, who made the heavens and the earth!
So go ahead…….ask Him for His help. He’s ready and waiting to give it to you!!!