If you follow me on Twitter, or if you are one of my Facebook friends then you are well aware that I have an obsession, a healthy obsession in my opinion, with the Texas Rangers and baseball! This season Brian and I have been blessed with the opportunity to see the Ranger’s play three times, once in Baltimore, once in NY and recently in Philadelphia. It always amazes me that people are surprised that we go to other ball parks dressed in our Ranger best to cheer for the visiting team, our Rangers. In Philly Brian had a man come up to him and say he respected us for coming to cheer on our team even in an away stadium and that we would do so making our loyalty loudly known by our clothing. I would not have thought we were a bit unique in that way, but I guess we are. To date we have never had a bad experience in a ball park, we have enjoyed a little fun razzing, and some colorful words that could have been left out, but that is about it.
The night we went to the Yankee stadium was a profound memory maker for me!
The tickets were given to us by a friend of a friend. I have no idea who they originally belonged to, but let me just tell you they were AWESOME seats! You know you are in good seats when the chair is cushioned and the back of the seat in front of you has a sign that reads “Be alert for flying bats and foul balls”. (for those who would like to know we were located 19 rows back from the Yankee dug out)
When we first received the tickets I felt an overwhelming since of God’s extravagant love for us. Why in the world would He choose to bless us with tickets to see our favorite MLB team, and I am not talking about the Yankees! Why would he choose to do so by blessing us with wonderful seats. There are so many needs in the world, why would he choose to bring this unneeded, just for fun blessing our way? I had the since that we were suppose to be in NY for a reason, besides learning that God loves to love on us.
During the game I had the privileged of sitting next to Tom, a Yankee fan who was gracious enough not to be annoyed at the fact that a Ranger fan was seated next to him. We had fun talking baseball and teasing each other about the game. He kept blaming me for the on and off rain that happened throughout the game. In our small talk the Lord opened the way for big talk! I told Tom how Brian and I had moved away from Texas for Brian to be a pastor in PA. This opened the door up for Tom to tell me his current beliefs and church practices, which were rather interesting. We talked off and on about what he is doing now in life after being raised Lutheran. I was able to share my testimony in a few sentences with him and was thankful I had the opportunity to honor the Lord in that way.
Tom was with his son, Brian who plays little league ball. After a bit the conversation turned to Josh Hamilton, the Texas Ranger’s left fielder who at that time was on the DL but since has returned and hit a homer off the first pitch he received (now that is what I am talking about!).
Last year I read Josh Hamilton’s book Beyond Belief. My oldest was interested in reading it and I decided to read it at the same time to check on the content and to be able to have good discussions with her. I loved reading this book! First due to my obsession with baseball, the Texas Rangers to be specific, so any book about the Rangers is wonderful to read. Secondly, Josh is a strong Christian man and his testimony of the dark roads of the drug lands that the Lord pulled him from is inspiring and hope filled! Since Tom had brought up Hamilton the Lord prompted me to suggest he and his son read the book. The book includes a beautiful testimony of the Lord’s redeeming work in Hamilton’s life as well as a dramatic picture of the power of the Word of God. Through out the book Hamilton keeps writing that his life and his talent are about more than just baseball, they are an opportunity for him to point people to the Lord. Hopefully, Tom and his son will take my suggestion and read the book, you never know what the Lord can do! It is about more than just baseball.
I think that is what I saw that night. Getting to go to the game was about more than just baseball…and I love baseball! It was about getting to talk to Tom and hopefully encouraging him in his walk with the Lord. What a treasure! The Lord takes our delights and uses them to spread His word and His love, and that is a home run in my book.
Do you have delights in your life, favorite pastimes?
Are you making them available for the Lord to use?
I hope He is blessing you lavishly and helping us all to see how every area of life can be sacred when He is in it.
We love Pennsylvania, it is home! But it does not change the fact that our roots are Texan and our family lives in that big old Lone Star State. We try to make trips back once a year or something close to it.
