Monday, July 20, 2015

Have you seen enough?


The story is told about legendary baseball pitcher, Walter Johnson. He was a pitching phenomenon at the time, striking at batters at will.

A rookie faced Johnson for the very first time. Before he knew what happened, the rookie had two called strikes on him. He just shook his head and walked away.

The umpire took off his mask and called after the rookie, “Son, where are you going? That was just strike two.”

“You keep the third strike,” the rookie said. “I’ve seen enough.”

It happens, doesn’t it? You see enough at work and you just want to walk away. Or, you see enough at home and you just want to say, “You keep it.”

But there’s something to be said for staying in the batter’s box, even when you think you’ll strike out. When you walk away, you learn nothing except how to quit. When you hang in there, you learn something—about yourself, about the situation, and what it takes to succeed.

God wants you to succeed today so stay in there and listen to life.

Does it seem like you just can’t get it right?

Does it ever seem like you just can’t get it right some days? And no matter how hard you try, life just won’t come together for you?

A guy in Michigan knows exactly what you’re talking about. He walks into a fast food restaurant about five o’clock in the morning, pulls out a gun, and tells the clerk to give him all the money.

“I can’t do that,” the clerk says.

“Why not?” the robber asks.

The clerk says, “Because I can’t open the cash register without a food order.”

“Okay,” the robber says, “Give me some onion rings.”

And the clerk says, “I’m sorry, we don’t serve those for breakfast.”

The would-be robber just shakes his head and walks out the door.

For days that life just won’t come together for you and nothing seems to work, remember: consult with God when making plans and listen to your life. God converges everything you need and a lot of what you want at just the right time so that you can make a life and not just a living.

Do you just not get it some days?


A woman leaves a New York City convenience store when, all of a sudden, a man grabs her purse and runs. The clerk calls 911 immediately. The woman gives the police a detailed description of the thief. The description is so good, in fact, that police catch him in about half an hour. They put him in the police car and drive him back to the store.

When they get back to the store, the officer takes the purse snatcher out of the car, makes sure his handcuffs are snug, and says, “Okay, just stand here against the car for a positive identification.”

And the thief says, “Yes, officer, that’s her. That’s the lady I stole the purse from.”

Yes, I know, you’d never do anything like that, now would you? Yet, aren’t there some days when you just don’t get it? And you stick your foot in your mouth or say something that you wish you could take back? Sure you do. What do you do when that happens? About all you can do is pray to God for mercy, isn’t it? Listen to life for mercy as you make a life, not just a living today.