Home > A Community of Faith > Archives > 2009 > September > 16 > Entry
Running Bases
*Okay, I was starting to get the shakes because it has been far too many weeks without a blog on ball. I needed a fix…so, here you go…
Recently I heard someone compare their life to running the bases on a ball field…When you think about it, it is really a good metaphor for life. If I am average and have an average life expectancy, then I’ve probably just lifted my cleat off second base and am raising my head to catch my first glimpse of the third base coach…
I know a lot of folks who are much further around the bases than I am. They rounded third a while back and have a clear view of home plate. It is a sobering thought. I think about what my life will be like when I’m rounding third and heading home. I wonder if I’ll be running. I hope I am.
Hebrews 12:1 says that we should “run the race that is marked out for us.”
I have never been a fan of sliding. When I played ball I would do most anything to try to avoid that situation. I much preferred to stay on my feet! Oh my, for so many reasons…not the least of which was the strawberry on my upper thigh that I was sure to get if I even attempted to slide…One of my least favorite memories of playing ball is when I tried to slide into second base and sprang my ankle. It is so much easier to just run faster, reach the base well in advance of the ball and avoid the whole “sliding” scenario.
My all-time favorite offensive scenario was when I was reaching full speed as I rounded second base only to look up and see the third base coach waving me in, then accelerating into another gait as I rounded third. The icing on the cake was when the catcher was straddling the baseline waiting for a throw from the cut-off…The absolute best feeling in the world was being able to blow by the catcher, in overdrive, and shove them out of the way as I crossed home plate STANDING UP! SCORE! There’s nothing as thrilling as that feeling. (not to mention, no strawberries!!!…for you non-athletic types I’m not talking about fruit…)
I want to live my life that way…especially the last half. I have to! I know more now than I ever have. I’ve seen God work in my life more than ever before. I have forty plus years of a history of His unwavering faithfulness to me and others around me. For that alone, I should love Him more than I ever have before. Because of all those things, I feel like I have a responsibility, more than ever before, to be running. In fact, I should be racing. I want to race to the end. I want to run with unbridled passion and enthusiasm…like I’ve never experienced in my life, ever before…. I want to run until I drag my foot across home plate and maybe, just maybe there will be a catcher who will be so bold as to stand in the baseline and try to block my path…yes, that path that Hebrews says is “marked out for us.” And maybe just one last time I’ll get to experience the thrill of knocking them out of my way as I cross home plate at warp speed…STANDING UP! SCORE!
I don’t know where you are in your walk with the Lord. And honestly, you don’t know either. The truth is that none of us really know if we’re rounding first or a just a few steps from home plate. That uncertainty alone should motivate us to do all we can while we can.
So, maybe there are butterflies in your stomach because you’re lacing up your cleats for your first at bat or maybe you have rounded third a while ago and you are heading home. Regardless of where you are on the base path, dig in your cleats and run like you never have before. Trust Him like you never have before. Love Him like you never have before. And maybe, just maybe you’ll get lucky at the end of your run and the catcher will be standing in the baseline…
Comments
By Donna
September 16, 2009 7:42 PM | Link to this
I started to count the strawberry scars and as I lost count, I decided to stop :) Thanks for the memories!!!!!
By Donna
September 16, 2009 7:43 PM | Link to this
I started to count the strawberry scars and as I lost count, I decided to stop :) Thanks for the memories!!!!!
By Cheryl Barnhill
September 17, 2009 3:44 PM | Link to this
Wow, the blogs get better and better each week. I too want to be running when I round home plate. You are blessed to be such a wonderful writer. Love ya, Cheryl B.
By Linda Edmondson
October 1, 2009 10:00 PM | Link to this
It is amazing how a simple statement about where we are on the bases when comparing it to our christian walk can trigger such and explosion of thought. That was great!!