I love trivia and I heard that John Fogerty and his fun song, "Centerfield" was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2010, the only musician and song to be inducted. I wonder about "Take me out to the ball game", but "Centerfield" is such a catchy song even for non-baseball players like me. Who can stop themselves from singing along, "Put me in coach, I'm ready to play today."?
I was never athletic, and softball was no exception. I was always self-conscious when I got to bat and the other team would yell to their teammates, "lefty", as I was left-handed, and they would shift their positions. I hated the attention drawn to the fact that I was different, and I know they also all moved infield more too, knowing I would never hit the ball very far. I took it all personally but what was worse, was my maiden name was "Casey" and they couldn't resist taunting: "Casey at bat!" and we all know how that turns out. I didn't always strike out but making it to 1st base was miraculous.
I had to google as to why in this song he wanted to play centerfield. I always thought pitcher or 1st base were priority positions. According to google, centerfield is the most critical defense position after the pitcher and catcher. Perhaps his favorite players played that position. (I had to google that too and found Mickey Mantle, Ty Cobb, Willie Mays and more). References referred to that position as defensive anchors and captain of the outfield. Interesting that this guy that I assume has been sitting on the bench wants to dive into such an important position. That is confidence.
In the lyrics he says he has a beat-up glove and a homemade bat but a brand-new pair of shoes, that was all he needed to give him the confidence and I'm sure he played for hours on end practicing to get better.
This next part is for my Christian friends. I wanted to tell you why I am writing these little essays or musings or devotionals or whatever they are. Yes, it's true that I love to write and create but I want to use these thoughts to gently show others that being a Christian is not so awful in this crazy world. I hope they will see that we are not exclusive, arrogant or unintelligent and that we have some pretty good beliefs and that maybe by sharing verses it will allow some to read some parts of the Bible they didn't even know existed or to recognize familiar thoughts, premises or promises they didn't know were from the Bible.
Since I'm not getting any younger, I thought it was about time that I used my writings in this way. I have my beat-up glove (my well-worn Bible), my home-made bat (my thoughts), my new pair of shoes (my fairly new laptop) and the Holy Spirit to guide me. I decided to tell God, our coach, "Put me in coach, I'm ready to play today" and I made this commitment to write and share these thoughts. I love the thought of centerfield being the anchor but I don't feel confident enough to be in centerfield, I am more likely in the outfield, but I can still be an anchor out there standing for our beliefs and just helping by being on the team. I am trying to do what I can for God's kingdom. I know sometimes I am swinging aimlessly and sometimes I'll strike out, but with God's help, just maybe I can miraculously get to first base. It's the ninth inning and "Casey" is at bat, let's hope we do better this time. No matter what, I'm playing, and I am glad to have you as part of my team in whatever position you are playing. Play ball!
I leave you with God's words: "How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, 'Your God reigns!'"
Isaiah 52:7
No comments:
Post a Comment