I sometimes think I was born in the wrong time period. Growing up in a house with my parents born in 1923 and 1931 (Dad and Mom), I tended to think older. Listened to Big Band music every day because that is what my dad played. Listened to a guy named Paul Harvey because he came on twice a day in my dad's car. Part of that generation also recognized baseball as the only sport in the nation. Football existed, but in terms of popularity, baseball was the National Pastime. It certainly was in our house.
So, I find myself, at times, thinking more about that game that was rather than the one that is. Needless to say, in our extended confinement due to the virus, I found myself watching Ken Burns' baseball documentary which I've watched before, and I chanced on it with my favorite player to discuss, Babe Ruth. The Babe. Bambino. If you read about baseball, its history, it always starts from New York and grows outward from there.
I recently read a book on Babe which was excellent because it covered his life on and off the field. Babe was (no debate) the first celebrity in every sense of the word. He was known outside the game of baseball and capitalized on that popularity. Babe became the bridge between the innocent and somewhat ill-informed celebrity, whose name was not his to use but open to anyone who wanted to make money off his or her popularity (he had no claim to the candy bar "Baby Ruth" which came about during his rise - it's an interesting read in the legality of what they pulled off at the candy company) to the more sophisticated celebrity who knew to trademark his or her name.
Interestingly enough, Babe was as good a pitcher as he was a hitter, and he was, many say, the best pure hitter in the game - ever. Why did he leave the mound? Because fans loved his homeruns. Babe could play outfield and hit every game and not pitch and possibly miss a game after. I enjoy reading the history of the game with people like Babe, Gehrig who complimented Babe, and other players down the line like Dimaggio and others. It was a different place, different time, and I think I understood it better than I do modern times. I always enjoy the opportunity to visit that time period.
What about you? As you find time to sit and do things you may not have ever done because we were consumed with the present, work, children's activities pulling us to and fro, outside commitments, engagements that competed with our time.... Where do you find yourself? How is the silence sitting with you? How is the lack of activity because of "stay in place" working out?
Perhaps one place we can turn during out time is to God's Word, to hear the wisdom He has for us, for the direction we seek. A key passage in the bible for me comes from Jeremiah 29, a familiar passage to all of us: "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, Plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." Perhaps God has us exactly where he wants us.
We pray for God to guide us through this. We pray that God hear our prayers, our prayers for ourselves, our neighbors, our nation and our world, His world. We know He sent His Son to be our resurrection and life, and we know of the promise of eternal life through faith in His Son. We lift a prayer of thanksgiving for the greatest gift we have in Christ.
Hope Men's Ministry
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