‘Swing for the Fences’

9/18/2018

I Was Thinking…

If you are an Atlanta Braves fan then you are like me…Happy and thrilled at their 2019 season. The Braves could be participating in Post Season playoff baseball. We’ll know within the next two weeks if October baseball is returning to Atlanta. They have surprised the baseball world with their success this season. Go Braves!

Yogi Berra, the well-known baseball catcher for the New York Yankees, was catching when Hank Aaron, who at that time played for the Milwaukee Braves, approached home plate for his turn at bat. The two teams were playing in the World Series, and as usual Yogi was full of chatter, attempting to distract the Milwaukee Brave batters.

As Aaron came to the plate, Yogi said, “Henry, you’re holding the bat wrong. You’re supposed to hold it so you can read the trademark.” Aaron looked at him but didn’t say a word. When the next pitch came, Aaron hit the ball into the left field bleachers for a home run. After rounding the bases and touching home plate, Hank Aaron looked at Yogi Berra and said: “I didn’t come up here to read.”

In the book Wisdom, Mark Evans comments on life by saying, “To be successful in life, you’ve got to know why you are standing at the plate.” I think he is correct and I would add that it is important not to become distracted by those voices who attempt to tell us that all is wrong with us. We are loved by God. And for those places of struggle…those places that are ‘wrong’ in us, God sent an only child to die for us so that ‘wrong’ doesn’t have to define us.

It is critical that you and I listen to the right voices. Let’s make certain we see ourselves and those around us through the eyes of God. We are worth dying for my friends. We are loved. Now, let’s live our lives like we believe it. Let’s ‘swing for the fences’! And once again I say ‘Go Braves!’

Always Thinking…