courtesy of MLB
Baseball exemplifies living headfirst in many ways – and stealing 2nd base with a headfirst slide may be the all-time epitome. It might be safer to slide feet first, but it’s an all-out, no-holds-barred, face-forward assault. I regret that too much of my life was lived “safely” without the risk or the glory of living headfirst for the Kingdom. I had an internal question mark interrupting every opportunity, shouting out warnings, demanding permission, and challenging my choices. It took a chapter of my life to recognize, understand and reject the fears and lies, but that’s a story for another day.
This month is filled with tremendous baseball opportunities. I was privileged to coach our Little League All-Star team during their tournament, and this past weekend got to volunteer at the 2010 MLB All-Star FanFest, meeting Hall of Fame legends and current players. My son won a contest to participate in a Q & A breakfast and baseball clinic with Matt Holliday yesterday morning, and we leave tomorrow for a week in the Dominican Republic, teaching baseball to youth as we share the Gospel with them. (By the way, I don’t teach sliding headfirst when coaching young kids – there’s too much potential for injury, and Little League rules enforce a ban on it.)
I will be posting a series of personal entries from the DR this week, as possible, and you can also follow our outreach on twitter @hd1st.
In many ways, this will be my favorite outreach yet, simply because one of my kids wants to share his love for Jesus with others through the platform of baseball. (The other one is volunteering all week at our local vacation bible school.) I love watching the choices that they make on their own. After making a few bucks at his Independence Day lemonade stand, he handed me a portion that he wanted to give back to God. To a dad, there’s nothing better than seeing them make great choices, unsolicited. And I think that’s what our heavenly Father loves to see also – as we choose to live all-out for Him, giving God the glory. Now that’s a true All-Star.
