Friday; January 31

With February just around the corner, I thought I would take this time to offer a little bit of hope – pitchers and catchers report to spring training in about two weeks!  I can already feel the sunshine and smell the fresh cut grass!  

As I spend the day readjusting my focus from the dreary winter to the hope that each spring brings, I thought I’d share a quote from one of the all-time greats, Cal Ripken.  If there was a Mr. Baseball in my generation, it is probably the Oriole Iron Man.  I recently saw a quote of his that observed, “One person’s going to win, and everybody else is going to not win.  So let’s not feel like losers.  Let’s utilize the cultural opportunities, get to know the other players on the other team, look around you and enjoy your world series.”  As I read this I was reminded of how many times someone has tried to convince us that there are winners and losers – winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing.  Maybe there are some people who are so driven to excel that they live by these creeds; but the truth is that most of us aren’t that good, so we might as well enjoy the process. 

While this is true in sports, it is also true in life.  Competition might be fine to a point, but the fact remains that none of us is going to get out here alive so we might as well enjoy the journey.  We can be adversarial and feel the sting of each loss and the failures we experience or we can work together with those we meet and experience the essence of a rich, full life. 

When Paul reflected on his life he wrote, “Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” (Ephesians 4:1-3).  If he, someone who was imprisoned for his beliefs, could call upon believers to enjoy our relationships what does that tell us about our dealings with others? 

Think About It!

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