I’ve had a rough few weeks as of late. I was telling a friend the other day that it seems someone has been throwing a lot of curve balls my way and I have the bruises to prove it. I went on to tell him that I haven’t worked out my timing yet; he seemed perplexed.
If you watch much baseball, you’ll hear the commentators talk about a certain player’s ability to hit a curve ball. It seems almost impossible that anyone could hit a 95 mile-per-hour fastball, but even average hitters will finally work out the timing and learn to hit them. But to be successful in the major leagues, a hitter must learn to hit curve balls. How do they do that? They have to learn from experience, stay focused on the ball, and have confidence in their ability to hit the ball.
Many times, life will throw us curve balls. Just when we think we’ve got it all figured out, we will encounter a situation that doesn’t hit us “straight on.” It will come to us from a different angle and, if we’re not prepared for it, we’ll strike out. Just as batters have to learn to “see” the ball, we have to be prepared to anticipate various challenges. How do we prepare? We have to learn from experience, stay focused on our purpose, and have confidence in our ability “hit the ball.”
a swing and a miss!
every miss brings us closer to that home run; closer to the coveted grand slam.
you're so right. we've got to watch game tape, study the patterns and tricks of opposing team's pitchers. we must understand the fundamental differences in different pitches and learn to anticipate when a change-up or when a curve ball might be headed our way. You said it well, Matt: "…be prepared to anticipate…" 1. Remember why you're standing at the plate. 2. Identify your target 3. Stand readied and balanced with anticipation 4. Aim for the scoreboard.
nicely done. you gots me thinkin'.
agreed. I like the expanded metaphor.
Great analogy, Matt. Hang in there… God has big plans for you.
good thought mans. We have to stayed prayed up, and walking close with our Triune God so we can handle things, through HIm. Find our of strength in Him. Keep walking strong with our Lord – there is nothing better.
This has got me thinking in more ways than most of these posts. We need to remember why we are standing at the plate Whats our purpose? The target is always fluid and we need to identify it and focus. The hardest part I think is the time from when the ball is thrown to moment you need to choke down and swing. It's the waiting game, the anticipation of whats to come. With experience we will be able to hit the ball over the GREEN MONSTER. Sorry Cubs fans. The journey is preparation for the destination! HUM!
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