Ranting, Raving and Renewing

When life throws you a curve ball.....well, in our case when life throws you a FAST ball (thrown quickly, unexpectedly, overwhelmingly hard) CATCH it, scream a little from the pain you're feeling if you must but quickly realize....WOW!!! I caught it..I can handle this and we may even win this game!! (Stay with me here people...you'll get in momentarily) My sad attempt at using a baseball analogy, or in my case after my years of softball...a softball analogy, is unique. Normally, we think of a specific type of "pitch" when thinking of one throwing the ball, but as a first baseman all of my life with my sister playing short stop, throwing EXTREMELY fast, hard, hand stinging balls at me to ensure it would always get to my glove and the base before the runner did....I have put my own personal twist on this. I am taking the perspective of my position, first baseman, not a hitter. My point is......we all encounter, as Jeff and I are now, as well as many others, some things that when coming at us, may look scary, overwhelming, insurmountable, which is how every single throw from my sister to me looked over the years, but I couldn't throw my glove on top of my head, duck, run or scream (well, i actually DID always scream...can you picture that? It happened....don't know why, but it made people laugh..lol) anyway......as I said, I couldn't do anything but what I was supposed to do as a team player and first baseman which was to do the best I could to catch the ball and get the runner out...one runner at time, each time getting closer to the end. I am going to apply this same perspective to life. We are going through something very overwhelming right now, something I can't even discuss, but I CAN say that I HAVE to have the right perspective. So, back to my analogy...I am going to be a team player with my amazing husband, and as the ball comes to me, catch it with all confidence b/c it's simply my job to be obedient to my coach who also happens to be the umpire, an ALMIGHTY one at that, and hear him yell to Satan (the runner) "You're outta there!!!" As the fans (in our case, many prayer warriors) cheer for a happy outcome. Life, and the situation in front of us is by NO means a game, but the game here is the one Satan is wanting to play every minute in our minds, with our emotions and with our joy. So, if there is a "game" to be played, we already know the ending. With the umpire on our side, a team that only grows stronger each day and fans who are committed to the team, we will win!!! Not being able to go into detail of the situation, please allow me to say that I believe God is going to triumph here in the lives of all involved. Our situation is mild, in comparison to the pain others involved are feeling, but I see God working and KNOW He is not finished. With each game won, we're closer and closer to the play-off's and the finals....each game may become tougher (maybe not...we pray not) but no matter what, the reward is not a fake gold trophy this time, rather it is God receiving glory and drawing His children closer to Himself, as He provides healing and comfort to all involved. All I can say is (after all I've already said..HAHA)...is that your prayers are much needed for many people right now and I am trusting that God will lead you in the direction to pray, without having to know the exact circumstance. God is amazing that way....we are simply called to intercede for others, pray for His will to be done and trust He is always going to be faithful! Thanks for once again, allowing me to ramble. My hope today is that somehow through the craziness of this post, God will wrap His arms around YOU right now as I'm sure you can relate to the difficult things life brings. I am just grateful we serve the only TRUE God who adores His children!! Hope you have a blessed day!!

Here's another one of my twists on a life analogy...."When life hands you lemons, say EEEEEW! and the throw them at somebody!!" Don't ask..I know it doesn't make sense but it made my husband laugh. :)