“So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you. It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.” Since we have that same spirit of faith, we also believe and therefore speak, because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you to himself. All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God. Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.” 2 Corinthians 4:12-16
My dad was killed when an eastbound Allied Moving Van got in the wrong lane on a dense foggy morning near York, NE and crashed head on into his 1956 Plymouth when I was 7 years old on 17 December 1957. A few years later after mom moved my sister and me from the farm into Seward, I was going through some boxes with some of my dad’s hobbies. Wooden duck decoys, a wood crate with shotgun shells, a pencil collection and two baseball gloves; one a fielder glove and the other a catcher’s mitt. We never got to play catch.
When I was probably 11 or 12, my mom took me to buy my own new and first baseball glove. I still remember how wonderful that new glove smelled. The leather was stiff and shiny. The clerk at the store said that I should use some saddle soap to help soften the glove. It helped but what helped even more was playing catch. My dad never did get to play catch with me. Our neighbors didn’t have any children, so the husband George, gladly went out onto 7th Street and played catch with me. We both had a great time that first time. Decades later, I have wondered if those times playing catch in the unpaved street meant as much to him as they did to me; I’m thinking they did.
I heard a devotion recently that compared our lives to a baseball glove. When we are born, we are clean, shiny and we have an aroma that is something you can’t forget. We get wiped down with baby lotion to protect our skin. We go outside and play in the grass and dirt and become more pliable. As we get older and have been through many extra innings, we become more able to do things better with more experience.
And now, some of us are in the 9th inning with a couple of outs. Our glove is worn out but we are still able to play the game. Heavenly Father, give me strength to continue to accomplish what You have set up for me to do. The stitching on my glove is getting loose but I can still play catch. Lord, give me the ability to provide a daily meal for these two young boys from Haiti who probably don’t own a glove or eat a meal at home every day. May our lives still do accomplish what our Lord created us to do for Him. If He woke you up this morning, there are still a couple of outs left; you still have time. There are still a few hungry school children in Haiti, waiting for you to come into their lives. Our Father still has work for you to do in the harvest.
Heavenly Father, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with good courage, 8not knowing where we go but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Amen.
May God be with you,
Jay