A Few Reminders

Happy Friday Friends!

I hope & trust this post finds you having a great day on this beautiful Saturday morning! The last 24 - 48 hours have been a whirlwind! I now find myself scrambling to get this Happy Friday out so I can head off to watch Gehrig play baseball. The crazy, blessed life of being a Dad!

This morning I just want to share a couple of friendly reminders, encouragers really, and put my heart out there to share a lesson I learned this week.

This first reminder flew at me in a couple of different ways this week. Have you heard the expression, "Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle"? I want to back the up even one more step...think, "Seek first to understand, then to be understood." It seems to me that we must first seek to understand before we can ever get to the point of being kind, considerate or compassionate.

So how does this play itself out in real life? Perhaps a co-worker fires off a nasty email to you. Or maybe your spouse/partner/son/daughter/friend snaps at you. I am sure, like me, you simply smile and demonstrate all kinds of love, mercy & grace...right?!?! Hardly!! The reaction is probably more like the favorite expression of our beloved neighbor, "What the hell?" And then the fight is on, right?! We fire back with an email or smart remark. Nobody wins...

I want to encourage us to pause for a moment and seek to understand what is causing this persons words & actions. The cries for understanding & compassion take on many forms. People are walking around with gaping psychological & emotional wounds. They speak & act from these points of brokenness because, well, that is who they are right now in this season of their life. We, in these encounters, have the opportunity to heal or further wound.

I spoke to a woman this week whose parents told her at 16-years old that she would never amount to anything in this life. I have spoken to a man who has battled addiction and is struggling to find work. I have spoken to a person, a couple actually, who are fighting incredible battles in the workplace. You think their approach is, "Hey Kev, it's all sunshine & roses buddy! Ain't life great." Heck no! They are hurting, they are broken and they are struggling to find their way. 

Now this doesn't all mean that it is o.k. for anyone to be rude, mean or disrespectful to anyone. I am not advocating for anyone to put themselves in unsafe situations. I am saying if we will just slow down for a moment, really try to understand the person and what is happening in their lives we will be in a better position to act from a place of love, mercy & grace. Yes, I will have to set my ego aside. Yes, I will have to swallow my pride. As I type this I think, what is more important, my ego & pride or the life of another human being? Pretty humbling...

I also want to encourage you to pursue your hopes, goals & dreams. If it is burning, even if it is only so slightly, in the depths of your soul, please pursue it. I cannot guarantee that you will achieve whatever it is you desire however I can guarantee that if you will pursue it the journey will be worthwhile. You will have to slay the great monsters of worry, fear & discouragement. You will find within yourself courage, strength & hope you never knew you had. While you might not accomplish the ultimate goal you have in mind, you will become more of the person you were created to be in the pursuit of that goal.

I feel I must also say this; never speak again about not accomplishing the ultimate goal. We have addressed the fact that attainment of the goal is not guaranteed however from this point forward we are going to speak life into our hopes, goals & dreams all the time, every day. And we are going to trust that the Lord will lead, guide & direct as we pursue that path. We are going to live in this day, this moment, and faithfully pursue the greatness that is within us. That is all...nothing more, nothing less. Please reminder Friends, God has given us the strength & wisdom for this day, not tomorrow. Live in this day and then wake up tomorrow and do the same thing again. We string all those days together on our path and we will find ourselves standing at the pinnacle of our hopes, goals & dreams. However we have to start climbing...

And finally, I am going to share a lesson learned by yours truly this week. I took Thursday off as Gehrig was the opening day starter for his baseball team and, playing in a tournament, their game was at 11:00 a.m. The day started off great, I was so excited and really looking forward to the day. I got up early and did my normal morning routine - read, pray, workout. My Beautiful Bride and I had a great hour long drive to the game, talking and just enjoying our time together. We got there early, greeted the other parents, truly enjoying a beautiful, sunny, 80 degree day.

Gehrig looked good. Fastball was poppin, curveball was curvin and slider was slidin. In the 1st inning an opposing runner reaches 1st on an error. The other team then attempts a bunt and the runner takes off for 2nd. The catcher picks up the ball and throws it to 1st but it gets there late. Then the umpire on the bases says something, tells the runner to stay at 2nd and sends the batter back to hit. Both coaches come out however we cannot hear them and nobody knows what is happening.

The game resumes. Gehrig goes into his windup and the umpire on the bases throws up his arms and yells "balk!" He tells the runner on 2nd to go to 3rd. It is then that I realize that this is what happened a moment ago. He has called 2 balks on Gehrig moving the runner from 1st to 3rd. I haven't seen a balk and the umpire has called 2! We survive the 1st inning giving up only one run and the game is tied 1 - 1.

Gehrig is cruising going 3 up, 3 down in the 2nd and then gives up one hit and then gets out of the 3rd without giving up a run. After 3 1/2 inning we are winning 2-1.

And then there was the 4th inning. We mis-played a couple of balls and Gehrig was called for two more balks by the umpire on the bases, one bringing in a runner from 3rd. It was a painful inning to watch. Our fans were completely confused as it did not look like Gehrig was balking, the other players started harassing Gehrig mercilessly and we kept making silly little mistakes. The inning blew up. We ended up giving up 4 more runs.

I made a few comments, nothing inappropriate or over the top, however I was very frustrated and I felt horrible for G. While my outward appearance and actions were appropriate & acceptable, I did not like the feeling in my heart & spirit. I am reminded of 1 Samuel 16: 7 which says, "But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."

For the better part of the next 24 hours God & I spoke a lot about the game and, more importantly, how I had allowed this to affect my heart. It may sound or seem funny to you however to me, the battle was real. While I know nobody would say I said or did anything wrong, my heart felt wrong and to me, this is what matters most. I am also reminded that today is a new day, made by the Lord. He & I have dealt appropriately with my heart over the way I had reacted 2 days ago and I am looking forward to going to these ballgames today. Philippians 4 :13 tells me, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Including staying peaceful at a baseball game...even if the umpire is terrible & those were not balks! :) Come on, God gave us a sense of humor and, since we are created in His image, this means He has one too. My heart feels good in telling you that... :)

Please don't hesitate to contact me at any time if there is ever anything I can do for you or your family. I will always help you any way I can. You can reach me at kevin@whatwillyourinfluencebe.com.

Have a great day, a wonderful weekend, please cherish your precious families & Go Creek!

Kev