Friday, June 19, 2009
Atta Batta Swing!
Life can be brutal at times. It’s like baseball. You’re up to bat, half the world is expecting you to save the day and the rest is hoping you won’t. You feel a lump in your throat, a knot in your stomach and the sun is in your eyes. Your team is behind, the bases are loaded, the pitcher is intimidating and all you can think of is the times you struck out. The ball comes fast and it’s hard to know whether or not you should take a swing. Everybody’s got advice. What’s a person to do?
For some of you, there’s another, happier element to the baseball scenario, because you had the privilege of having a dad in the stands when you stepped up to the plate. Someone to cheer you on. Someone who believed in you. Someone who would spend time with you, helping you improve that curve ball. If that has been your experience, then you know why we set aside a special day just for dads. A few words from dad can go a long way toward giving us courage.
Being a great baseball player requires such courage; the kind of courage exhibited by Hank Aaron, who received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, in 2002. When he was 39, Aaron hit 30 home runs in 392 at-bats. This gave him a total of 713 home runs in his career. Between seasons, Aaron received death threats and hate mail from people who didn’t want a black man to break Babe Ruth’s record of 714 home runs. But on April 8, 1974, in spite of cold and drizzle in Atlanta, Aaron hit career home run 715 in the 4th inning. Several years later, on July 20, 1976, Hank Aaron hit his 755th and final home run. I don’t know who was cheering Hank on, but somehow he found the strength to persevere.
Life is a challenge for all of us. Whether it is people’s voices in your head, less than encouraging past experiences, or legitimate challenges, life can be brutal. What a difference it makes when there is a dad in the stands to urge us onward. I would like to thank all the fathers who have given us courage. Thank you for showing us how to be responsible and loving. Thank you for speaking into our lives even though you may be a man of few words. Thank you for cheering us on even though you knew we were not perfect. Thank you for being there to offset everyone in the stands who is chanting “atta batta, swing.”
Bravely taking one’s place in life takes great courage. Jesus modeled this. He stepped up to the plate and touched the lives of others in His world. He taught, loved and healed. There were always detractors and naysayers, even when he did his greatest miracles. Satan, himself, was Jesus’ ultimate detractor. But the man, Christ Jesus, had the encouragement of His Father to urge Him onward. If you don’t have the encouraging voice of a human father in your life -- not to worry. You, too, have a Heavenly Father. If you will run into His arms, He has words of comfort and encouragement for you. At your toughest moments, when everyone is shouting “atta batta, swing,” you’ll find him in the stands applauding your every effort.
For some of you, there’s another, happier element to the baseball scenario, because you had the privilege of having a dad in the stands when you stepped up to the plate. Someone to cheer you on. Someone who believed in you. Someone who would spend time with you, helping you improve that curve ball. If that has been your experience, then you know why we set aside a special day just for dads. A few words from dad can go a long way toward giving us courage.
Being a great baseball player requires such courage; the kind of courage exhibited by Hank Aaron, who received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, in 2002. When he was 39, Aaron hit 30 home runs in 392 at-bats. This gave him a total of 713 home runs in his career. Between seasons, Aaron received death threats and hate mail from people who didn’t want a black man to break Babe Ruth’s record of 714 home runs. But on April 8, 1974, in spite of cold and drizzle in Atlanta, Aaron hit career home run 715 in the 4th inning. Several years later, on July 20, 1976, Hank Aaron hit his 755th and final home run. I don’t know who was cheering Hank on, but somehow he found the strength to persevere.
Life is a challenge for all of us. Whether it is people’s voices in your head, less than encouraging past experiences, or legitimate challenges, life can be brutal. What a difference it makes when there is a dad in the stands to urge us onward. I would like to thank all the fathers who have given us courage. Thank you for showing us how to be responsible and loving. Thank you for speaking into our lives even though you may be a man of few words. Thank you for cheering us on even though you knew we were not perfect. Thank you for being there to offset everyone in the stands who is chanting “atta batta, swing.”
Bravely taking one’s place in life takes great courage. Jesus modeled this. He stepped up to the plate and touched the lives of others in His world. He taught, loved and healed. There were always detractors and naysayers, even when he did his greatest miracles. Satan, himself, was Jesus’ ultimate detractor. But the man, Christ Jesus, had the encouragement of His Father to urge Him onward. If you don’t have the encouraging voice of a human father in your life -- not to worry. You, too, have a Heavenly Father. If you will run into His arms, He has words of comfort and encouragement for you. At your toughest moments, when everyone is shouting “atta batta, swing,” you’ll find him in the stands applauding your every effort.
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