Happy Friday Friends!
I hope & trust this post finds you having a great day as a beautiful new day begins to dawn!
Yesterday morning I was listening to Focus on the Family. The hosts were interviewing sportscaster Ernie Johnson Jr. Now, if you don't know who Ernie Johnson Jr. is, please do yourself a favor; Google his name and then go watch the ESPN segment Ernie Johnson: My Story. You will smile, you will cry, you will be inspired. A truly remarkable man, and as I found out yesterday, raised by a truly remarkable father.
During the interview Ernie shared a story that was profound to him and, as he told it, profound to me as well. I want to share this story with you this morning.
When Ernie was a little boy he was playing Little League Baseball. One day the start of his game was delayed. You see, two boys on the team had gone beyond the outfield fence to get a ball that had gone over the fence. Everyone was waiting and the boys did not come back. When someone went to look for the boys they found them sitting there, eating blackberry's. Apparently, as they had gone to fetch the ball, they came upon a blackberry bush. Distracted by this sweet fruit they completely forgot about the baseball, the game and simply sat and enjoyed the blackberry's.
Ernie talked about how much his Dad loved that story and what a profound impact it had on his life personally. I got it. Ernie went on to say that he believes God gives us "Blackberry Moments", those moments of sweetness along this life journey where we can stop, if we will, and just enjoy the sweetness of the moment.
This is my hope, prayer and challenge for each one of us today; that we would have eyes & hearts to see the "Blackberry Moments" and the strength & courage to stop chasing whatever ball we are chasing, to sit down and simply live, fully present, in the moment enjoying those sweet gifts from God. They might be a moments with our spouses/partners, children, friends or it could be a complete stranger. One thing I am fairly certain of, they will not be moments when we are expecting them...we are busy chasing balls after all! Please remember the example we are following; two little boys who had a baseball game to play - doesn't get a whole lot more important than that! :) At this moment I am reminded of Matthew 18: 2 - 3; He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said: "Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." Not completely in context, I get that. We however would be wise to follow their example.
Please don't hesitate to contact me 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 and please cherish your precious families.
Kev
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