Curve Balls!

June 17, 2021

Curve Balls!

I was watching one of the final games of the NCAA College Women’s Softball Tournament a couple of weeks ago.  Sometime during the game, the announcer said something I already knew but the words seemed to strike me in a fresh way.  The announcer commented about the curve of the pitcher’s off-speed pitch.

When I watch women’s softball, it is hard for me to imagine the pitcher even getting the ball across the plate.  The way in which the pitcher’s arm swings in a circle, the leg lunges forward, and the body twists is amazing all by itself.  If it were me on the pitcher’s mound, the ball might go in the general direction of the plate.  But maybe not!

At the NCAA tournament level of play, the accuracy of the pitchers is amazing.  There are curves, spins, drops, rises, drifts to the inside, drifts to the outside, fast, slow, and even more.  For a novice like me, the only way to see the movement of the ball is when the production crew does a very slow “slow-motion” replay of the pitch. 

Many of the batters sometimes just stand there and do not swing because what is coming at them is not what they expected.  I would probably be one of those batters…all the time! 

Life has a way of throwing some curve balls in our direction.  A doctor’s diagnosis, a job lay-off, or an unexpected pregnancy sometimes leave us just standing there wondering what just happened.  Sometimes the curve ball is learning that our child has special needs, our parents will require additional care starting next week, or our engagement to get married was just broken off.

A couple of weeks ago, I had three conversations in a period of two days during which I learned that three families had been thrown a curve ball they were not expecting.  When we visited, each family was still trying to figure out what just happened; life had thrown them something they had never expected or wanted!

Life’s curve balls can temporarily leave us stunned, paralyzed, and confused.  Our emotions race all over the place; fear, sadness, and even anger.  For those who love Jesus, we can even find that it is difficult to pray.  The curve balls in life often lead us into a kind of spiritual crisis.  We wonder if God knows…if God cares.

In Psalm 69:1-3 we hear of someone who has been thrown a curve ball.  Listen to the cry of his soul, the emotions of his heart, and his desperate prayer for help. 

The Psalmist writes; “Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck.  I sink in deep mire, where there is no foothold; I have come into deep waters, and the flood sweeps over me.  I am weary with my crying; my throat is parched.  My eyes grow dim with waiting for my God.”

The Psalmist is not talking about literal water and mud; he is talking about one of life’s curve balls.  He did not expect this and he did not want this.  He cries out to the Lord for help…NOW!

Life’s curve balls are hard.  But, the curve balls come in a softball game and the curve balls come in life.  We cannot just stand there and do nothing.  The Psalmist shows us one way we can respond to the curve balls in life.  In Psalm 69:30 he writes; “I will praise the name of God with a song; I will magnify him with thanksgiving.”

When the curve balls come, I can choose to give my praise and thanks and worship to the Lord God.  I can choose to focus upon the goodness of God, the grace of God, and the generosity of God. 

I can choose to remember I am held in the Father’s mercy, filled with the love of Jesus, and empowered by the Holy Spirit.  In other words, I am not alone when the curve balls come my way. 

When I give my praise to the Lord, I will discover my hope is restored, my joy overflows, and my strength is renewed…even when a curve ball has just been thrown in my direction.  The path I am walking may still be difficult but my heart is taking delight in the Lord.

Take delight in the Lord!

Doug