3 balls and 2 strikes

OK, well this is my second day and also my second post. I have spent my day evaluating all of the things that have happened to me and wondering if there is anything of substance in those events that I can write about on my blog. And it turns out... my days aren't really that exciting.
But as I turned on the TV tonight I caught the Astros game. It was the bottom of the 8th inning. And Berkman was at bat with 3 balls and 2 strikes. Pretty exciting stuff. And the hopes of an entire team, an entire stadium and an entire city are riding on the timing and talent of this one guy. Talk about pressure. But I got to thinking about what it must feel like when you swing that bat and let all those people down. And the answer I came up with is that it feels like a rock and a hard place. And that feeling felt familiar.
I realized that I have spent the last few months feeling like I was living between that huge rock and that very hard place. And I am sweating and swinging and just striking out left and right. Now, I am not playing for die-hard fans, but I am playing for the success of my future. I am playing for the hope of a better tomorrow, quite literally. And right now in my life, I am up against 3 balls and 2 strikes in a tied game. And it is unbelievable pressure to win.

And as I was thinking about all of this... Berkman went to bat again, and he walked. Fast forward a few innings later and the Astros were celebrating a victory. And it was sweet. And all of Houston rejoiced. And I took away this nugget: occasionally we are put in a hard situation and everything in us tells us not to swing that bat, because then we might fail. But... if we surrender to the idea that God is good ALL the time - then we can step up to the plate with confidence. Sometimes we will get a hit, sometimes we may strike out, or even walk... but occasionally, we will get the satisfaction of hitting that home run and running at full speed toward sweet victory. And we will rejoice. I think that I am wanting to get to that mind set where I can stand up and swing with all of my might and trust in His timing and talent to take over. And when that happens, victory is certain. It may not happen this inning, or this game... but it will happen. And that is hope.

I am not what you would call a "sporty" girl. So if any of these baseball references are incorrect I apologize. I just call it like I see it.