After almost no success with batting last year, Zachary charged into a new season with might, determination, and a string of hits. For well over half the season, he seized each opportunity given to him to hit the ball, rarely failing to get on base. He also earned his coveted spot as lead catcher and played the position with every ounce of energy and enthusiasm he had, catching pop foul balls and tagging runners out at home plate.
But then something happened. In sports, they are called “slumps”. While Zachary maintained success as a catcher, he began struggling with the bat.
In the Bible, Job speaks of the Lord giving and the Lord taking away. I attempted to suppress thoughts that this may be the path God was allowing Zachary to take, yet the new statistics could not be ignored.
In reality, his hitting slump was somewhat dramatized; reflecting back on the entire season, my young ball player had just two games with only strike-outs. Yet it felt much worse at the time, to some extent because he had hit exceptionally well prior to the slump and also because of struggles at practice with batting. Moreover, his order in the line-up began dropping with each successive game.
Slumps in life cause frustration and sadness, yet they also provide many opportunities for introspection and reflection.
In the midst of his difficulties, Zachary candidly stated that he had been asking God to help him hit better again. Despite the struggles, I rejoiced in the knowledge that my youngest son was praying on his own with no prompting. Perhaps God allows difficulties in life for that reason – to bring the one struggling to a closer relationship with Him.
Zachary’s faith was strengthened as he trusted God with the results. Lifting up a prayer to God is no magical formula for success. He simply made his request known to God and trusted whatever answer He gave.
Additionally, Zachary discovered that struggles in life are sometimes compounded by negative thoughts that seek to torture their victim. He began to believe the lie that he would never hit again. Upon recognizing his discouraging feelings for what they were, he made every effort to douse those hopeless thoughts and replace them with a God-honoring attitude.
Perhaps most of all, Zachary learned that God’s love supersedes baseball. Beginning to feel as if he was disappointing others, he became downtrodden. Yet when reminded that our love, and most of all God’s love, does not depend on his success in baseball, his enthusiasm returned.
In the midst of the spiritual revelations, God granted Zachary an answer to his prayers with a “baseball” revelation. All the advice and coaching he had received confused him, and, in part, compounded his problem. His own discovery that keeping his elbow down (new advice given to the team) hurt his swing rather than improved it became the fuel he needed. Immediately convinced that his slump was over, he was ready to play ball!
Although not quite at the same level as before, Zachary did begin hitting again. He finished the season with one or two hits at each tournament game, even bringing home the winning run in game two. Perhaps more importantly, his confidence and happiness returned.
Zachary conquered his slump. But I am convinced it was not merely due to hits or big plays, but because of a growing faith and trust in the Lord and an unwavering assurance of God’s unconditional love for Him
And just as the Lord gave Job much more than he initially lost, God did the same for Zachary.
During one of his last at-bats of the season, he hammered the ball down the third base line and straight to the fence. As his opponents chased after the ball and fought to bring it in-field, Zachary ran around first base, then second and third, and straight to home plate – earning his first homerun ever! What a beautiful opportunity the Lord gave to Zachary, who in turn, with renewed confidence and trust in the Lord, seized it with all his might!“The Lord gave and the Lord took away; blessed be the Lord!” Job 1:21
“Now the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning…” Job 42:12a
No comments:
Post a Comment