Lost Faith

Sometimes we are given no other option than to cut bait and move on in life. 

 

You don’t always get what you want. This was apparently clear to me in the past few months when a newspaper subscription failed to reach me. 

It seemed like such a great idea at the time. Since, I work long hours as a bug killer, I thought it would be nice to have a weekly sports newspaper in my truck to read at lunch to keep me up to date on football and baseball.  

Sadly, it has not turned out that way.  In the past two months or so, I only received the paper twice and the one time it was soaking wet.  Now, I acknowledge that my mailbox is positioned along with seven others at the end of my road.   Also, they can’t put the newspaper in my mailbox, due to U.S. postal rules.  Still, a simple toss under the mailbox, with a sticker address on the paper, placed in a plastic bag, would do the trick. 

During my dilemma, I called the newspaper company over four times and expressed my dissatisfaction.  Unfortunately, although they said they felt this was unacceptable behavior, in the last six weeks I have not received the newspaper.  Their talk though pleasant, was just that, cheap.

For whatever reason, the newspaper delivery service cannot deliver and therefore I have no other alternative but to cancel my subscription.  I simply have lost faith in the newspaper’s ability to deliver their paper because they did not deliver on their promises. 

This brings me to another interesting thought I have heard throughout my lifetime.  The sentiment I have heard people, who get frustrated or worn out by life, is that they have lost faith in God.  The stories for the most part are similar in that when they needed God He did not come through for them as they had hoped.  Or they simply can’t trust in someone they cannot see.

A definition of faith, I have found helpful, is being sure of what you hope for and certain of what you do not see.  God, in my opinion, does not play by our rules.  His ways are higher than ours and is not someone we can see, because He is not like us.  However, He loved us enough to make a way for us to spend eternity with Him. And thank goodness, He never stops believing in us and loses faith in us.   

So, I guess what I’m saying is that although not all newspapers can deliver what they say, I firmly believe and know God can deliver and does on His promises.

Lost faith in God, unlike an undelivered newspaper, is always waiting to be picked up again. 

Swavel

Seize The Day

    

In the journey of life, fear does not make a good co-pilot.
 

If seizing the day is such a great idea then why are we, like Scooby-Doo and Shaggy, all so afraid?

Let’s be honest, we all have invisible lists in our heads.  Thoughts of things we would rather avoid that confront. Here is a list of some that come to mind….

*Will I ever be good enough?

*What if I lose my job?

*What if those I care about stop loving me?

*What if those I love die or leave me?

*If people really knew me, would they accept me or run?

*What if people found out I really didn’t know what I was doing?

*Will I ever really achieve something worthwhile?

*Will I ever get my act together?

*What if I can’t keep up with life?

*Fear of the unknown

*What if I lose control?

Instead of compiling such lists, I think we should rather compose a letter to fear dismissing it.  Such as the following:

Dear Fear,

We are so through.  Go away and don’t EVER come back.   I am so done with you.

Sincerely, Me

 

We tend to focus on the wrong, and more times than not, is the death of us. Too many of us live in constant fear and this is not a healthy or wise way to live.  Jesus said, “Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” 

The attitude to have rather that following fear is that of seizing the day or carpe diem to be precise.  This Latin phrase was originally used by the Roman poet, Horace, approximately two thousand years ago.  It is a no nonsense statement that says get out of my way.  

So, with that said, we should live intentionally and never plan to give into fear.  Simply tell fear adios and then leave no return address.

When faced with fear, seize the day, rather than seize up.

Swavel

Please Wait

The person who said that patience was a virtue, must have been delusional.
 

I promise this will be brief.

Due to life being so busy, this was not the article I planned to write.  However, we all must wait sometimes in life for what we really want.

Here are some personal occurrences where I recently had to wait:

*I had to wait at traffic lights for the red to turn to green, so I could get to work on time.

*I had to wait for the coffee maker to brew the coffee, so I could run out the door to go to work.

*I had to watch the PLEASE WAIT sign on my handheld computer, for minutes on end, while my work schedule synchronized itself.

*I had to wait on the phone when I called a company to see why they didn’t do what they promised to do.

*I had to wait to order meat at the deli counter, which I rarely do anymore because it takes so long.

So, what is it about waiting in life that most of us hate so much?

Maybe, it is the perceived rejection that if we have to wait we have failed. Or just the plain fact that we think doing something is an accomplishment.

 

The Bible says we should wait on the Lord.  Which makes sense, because as I get older I am realizing that often it is what we learn in the waiting that enables us to be successful. 

Please wait is just a common occurrence that allows us to ease up on micromanaging life so much.

Swavel

Throw Strikes

Especially in life, the best advice is to always get ahead in the count.

Never tell a pitcher:  just throw it down the middle. 

If I had a dollar for every time someone told me this advice, as an amateur fast pitch softball pitcher, I would be a millionaire.  Take it from me, it doesn’t help.  Better, if you must say anything, encourage the hurler to throw strikes. 

 

Now you might think, what’s the difference.  Just getting it over the plate often means those pitches are far too easy to hit and will mean that eventually the hitters will dominate you.  Throwing strikes means throwing pitches your opponent can’t hit solid and gives you a better chance to get them out. 

Here are some other random baseball phrases that coaches, teammates and players shout out to pitchers:

-Throw the dark one.               - Throw something funny here.           - Pull the string. 

  

All three of these sayings mean you want the pitcher to throw an off speed pitch.  Remember, as soon as someone yells these secret code words, the hitter hears it too.  So, I would refrain from helping the opponent. 

-Paint the corner. This is great advice. When you keep the pitch on the corners of the plate it makes it harder on the hitter.  If the pitcher has the ability to do this, he can be quite effective, however if he misses he will walk everyone and their brother.

-Keep it down in the strike zone.  More good advice because this usually causes the hitter to hit ground balls, and if your defense is any good you will throw less pitches.  Less pitches means you can go longer in the game and potentially win the game.

-Hit the mitt.  This is some of the best advice.  When you hit the catcher’s mitt often the umpire will call this a strike, if the catcher is set up in the strike zone.  Take it from me, sometimes when you just throw and stop thinking about it you make out a lot better.

-Let your fielders help you out.  It is always good to let the pitcher know he is not alone and does not have to win the game himself. 

-Some days you get the bear and some days the bear gets you.  This excellent advice came from a fellow pitcher who told me this after I pitched miserably and my team lost by over ten runs.  He simply put into words that sometimes you just don’t have your best stuff, shrug it off and try again next time. How true.

I guess where I am going here is, that like in baseball, the best advice we should give to people is the encouraging kind.  Sometimes, I think a hand on the shoulder, a hang in there, or I’ll be praying for you, is all that is needed.  It is the equivalent of just throwing strikes, when we say just keep doing your best, accompanied with  a simple smile.

To throw strikes in life really just means to work smarter, along with working harder.

Swavel