Hitting (or Not Hitting) the Curve Ball
As Orioles fans know all too well, hitting a baseball is a difficult task. Pitchers throw a ball with blazing speed and pinpoint accuracy. They also can fool hitters by changing speeds and the direction the ball is going. Pitchers not only throw fastballs, but they also throw curveballs.
Even the best hitters will face a lot of failure. They may even have stretches of failures that lead to slumps. Something that once felt easy now feels impossible. It saps your confidence. When this happens, hitting becomes more than a physical challenge, it becomes a mental challenge as well.
In baseball, learning to wait on a curveball is key. If you think it is a fastball, you will swing too soon. If you wait, you can sometimes keep yourself from swinging at a ball outside the strike zone. But waiting takes confidence you are seeing things correctly. Learning to wait is more of a mental challenge than a physical one.
Life is harder than hitting a baseball. It comes at us fast and often feels overpowering. It can also throw us curveballs. Things happen to us that we didn’t expect. Not only is life hard, but it can also fool us with problems and challenges we did not see coming. And when curveballs come, we must learn to wait.
This summer life threw me some curveballs. I had to face some things I never thought I would have to face. A young relative died suddenly; people I loved suffered various setbacks. All of them together sapped my confidence. I have been trying to tell myself to wait on God. To not swing wildly but to see things clearly.
Psalm 27 has been helpful to me. David is dealing with a lot of curveballs. Enemies surrounding him, people deserting him. Evil people seemingly winning the day. David had confidence that he would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. That despite his current circumstances, that God was there, and good things would come. He just has to wait for them. He ends the Psalm with these encouraging words.
“I would have lost heart unless I believed I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord” -Psalm 27:13-14
So, I am trying to wait. Like baseball, some days are better than others. But I do believe I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. I hope you do too.
God bless,
The Donohues
