“WHEN WORK NEEDS TO BE DONE”
Greetings to everyone and Happy August!
In the magazine, Church Champions Update, Dave Travis shares this profound insight from a baseball game he watched.
Tuesday night I couldn’t go to sleep. I clicked on the hotel TV and found my beloved Atlanta Braves playing the Colorado Rockies. It was the ninth
inning, and the score was tied at 6-6.
The game continued. As the innings progressed, the Rockies used all of their relief pitchers. (Major league teams have 25 person rosters, 10 of which are usually pitchers. Of those, four or five are starters, and the rest are relievers.)
Without any relief pitchers left on the bench, the starting pitcher from the night before was sent out to pitch an inning. He had pitched numerous
innings the night before but went out again and held the Braves.
In the 12th inning, the Rockies had a terrible choice. Should they send out
one of their two remaining starting pitchers, who would have to play over
the next two days, or a utility player? They chose to send an injured
catcher, Brent Mayne, to the mound.
The manager asked him: “Can you pitch?”
“Sure” said Brent, even though he had never pitched at any level in his
Life.
A few pitches went over the catcher’s head. One flew behind a batter’s back, but Mayne managed to get the Braves to ground into two grounders and a fly ball out to get the Rockies out of the inning.
In the bottom of that inning, Mayne’s position came up to hit. With an injured batting hand, he couldn’t do it. So the Rockies sent out a new player who had never had a hit in the major leagues. Of course, he drove a run in to win the game.
Why tell this story? Because sometimes we all have to fill uncomfortable roles or positions. Sometimes we have to do it even when we are hurt or even in some pain. If we are able, we have to go out there and support our team/family, in spite of how we might feel.
I remember my deployment in 2015-16 when Chapel services had to take place, even when I was recovering from the Norovirus. My Chaplain Assistant was amazed that we were able to perform both services for Task Force TQ that Sunday. With God all things are possible!
Too many times we may excuse ourselves from tasks that need to be done, saying, “It’s
not my place or my mission, it’s not my gift, it’s not my position!”
As a result, the work that you or I are called to do could be left undone. But God has created us with talents and gifts to fill a gap when we find it, and to accomplish His work.
PRAYER: Dear God in heaven, open my eyes to the needs of my community, my family members, and my peers all around me. Help me to do my part to make the world a better place than the way I found it. In the Name of the King of Glory, Amen.
(Adapted from Perfect Illustrations for Every Topic and Occasion)