B E H I N D / T H E / B A R

It was one night last fall, when my son stepped up to bat during his little league game. Before he took his batting position he did gave his bat a practice swing, adjusted his stance and deliberately pointed his finger toward the outfield to indicate where he intended to put the ball. 

If you’re any sort of baseball fan at all, you’ve seen , “The Sandlot,” and will remember that “Ham” the larger than life smack talker did the same thing every time he would get up to bat.

Ham was emulating the great Babe Ruth who during game three of the 1932 World Series between the Yanks and the Cubs hit one of the greatest home runs in baseball history.  Babe stepped up to the plate, and points to the center field to tell Cubs pitcher, Charlie Root, exactly where he was going to put the ball. And he did.

Fast forward 85 years later, and there’s my little guy stepping up to the plate pointing to the outfield telling anyone watching where he intended to put the ball. Sadly the ball didn’t go anywhere close to where he intended. In fact that’s yet to happen.  Still, each time he gets up to bat he faithfully points to outfield to tell the world where he was going to put the ball.

A couple weeks ago I noticed that he had stopped pointing and I asked him about it.    

“I never actually put it out there, Dad, and I feel kind of stupid.” 

A later discovery further revealed that an assistant coach had told him to stop pointing, “because it looked silly.”  

(Sorry.  Excuse me for a second while I regain my composure on that one.)

“Son,” I told him, “Just because you haven’t, doesn’t mean you won’t.”  With his passion for the sport and tireless practicing, one day he is going to put that ball exactly where he is pointing but until then,  I’ve told him to keep pointing! 

As I look back over my life, there have been many times when I’ve pointed to hopes, ambitions or dreams and those things never seemed to happen.  Eventually I stopped pointing.  I Gave up.  I felt stupid.   

I’ve even heard the enemy of my soul telling me, “you look silly, put your finger down.”

I listened.

I stopped pointing.

Have you stopped pointing?  Have you given up on your dreams, hopes ambitions?

I know of some folks that have sold everything, to pursue a crazy dream.   Others, are hoping desperately for what others would say is impossible.

I’ll tell you what I told him, “Just because you haven’t, doesn’t mean you won’t”

Keep pointing.  

You may not hit it to center field today, or tomorrow, or next week.  But then again, you may.  

Friend, keep believing, keep trusting, keep growing deeper in your faith in the One who gave you the dream, keep stepping up to the plate, and one day you’re going to hit it out of the park.  

Just Keep Pointing