Play Ball

"It's time to step up to the plate."

I've been hearing this phrase somewhere within me
for the past week or two.

"Stepping up to the plate"
means I am part of a team of players.
The players are part of a team
that wants to win.
I do only my part.
I cannot do someone else's part.

"Stepping up to the plate"
may not look the same for everyone.

I may not become an all-star player.
People might not know my name.

But they might know yours.

"Stepping up to the plate"
might mean that I need to stop
hiding in the dugout.

It might mean that it's time
I show that I know how to 'play ball'
even though I'd rather be the keeper
of home plate,
sweeping it off,
helping you to see your final goal,
helping you make it home.

Perhaps I can step up to the plate
and keep home base clean.

I don't know.
But I am willing to know.

My ear is inclined to hear His voice.

I am watching His face
so He can guide me with His eye.

I am evading busyness
so I don't lose the sense of His presence.

I am grieving loss
and embracing His comfort.

I am watching, praying, guarding my heart,
my home, and those in my realm.

I am hiding God's Word in my heart
with fear and trembling,
with tears and repentance,
so I might not sin against Him.

But, I am afraid to pick up that bat.

I am afraid of the eyes watching me.
My love for others is not yet perfected.

The pressure is greater;
the temptations more severe;
the failures more visible,
when that bat's in my hands.

What does He mean by those words-
"Step up to the plate?"

Will He keep His hands around mine
and show me how to swing that bat?

Yes.
Of that I am sure.
Whether I swing and hit a home run
or swing and strike out,
He will never leave me or forsake me.

And that certainty gives me the courage
to pick up my bat.
It's time to practice my swing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In the past week or two,
I've been also noticing a verse.
Just as the phrase, "Step up to the plate"
has been echoing in my spirit,
so this verse has been doing the same.

Surely He is a God of clarity and balance.
Surely He will show me the path of obedience.

1 Thess. 4:9-12-"...love one another...increase more and more...also aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands,...that you may walk properly toward
those who are outside, and that you may lack nothing."