The Back Page
By Sue Ferguson
The change in seasons brings with it endings and beginnings. The end of pool season with an iced tea in hand, but the beginning of cozy sweaters and sips of pumpkin spiced lattes by the fireside. In the world of sports, it is the end of baseball season and the beginning of hockey. The Maple Leaf fans get buckled in for their roller coaster ride of ups and downs. Unfortunately that ride usually ends leaving fans with that familiar feeling of disappointment. Hopefully the Toronto Blue Jays will give us reason to celebrate. I have played baseball since I was about 4 years old. My cousins and my brother and I would congregate in the barnyard and have our own ball game. I remember we would try to see who could hit the ball over the barn. I played for many years in Vittoria, Simcoe, and Waterford, and made lots of friends along the way. After I moved back from Denver, my old ball team had started playing three pitch in Port Dover. I joined them, and we played until people started experiencing arthritis and having knee problems. Now, we congregate once in a while and talk about the good times we had. We usually find a way to be competitive in some kind of game that is not as physical. We have a chat group where we discuss current ball games and other sports that are happening. We chat about bad calls made by refs or umpires, and most recently about poor sportsmanship by golf fans.
I am a bit younger than some of my past teammates who have hip and knee problems, and fortunately I am still able to play. Jim Carroll recruited me a few years ago to play slo-pitch for the KWIC Internet team. We recently finished our season and had our year end barbecue. I get to play with some of our own congregants from church, and we have lots of great First Baptist fans too! Anyone who knows me knows that I am a pretty competitive person, especially when it comes to sports. We have lots of great players on our team, but some are more inexperienced, and others have never played at all. Jim is a great recruiter.
I feel God always puts us in situations where we can grow and learn, and as funny as it sounds, playing slo-pitch has taught me a lot. We aren't always the best team, but we are known as the “nice team”, and as Jim reminds us every year, we are the team that our opponents enjoy competing against. We have to provide our own umpires, and when there is a close call, we call it in favour of the other team. That doesn't always happen when the opposition is making the calls, but we don't argue. We accept their mistake and move on. I sure have learned humility. We also cheer on the other teams when they make a nice play or have a nice hit. That is good sportsmanship. Even though we lost some games this year by a lot, I found there were moments in those games that left me with a winning feeling. Running back-handed catches by brand new players, and diving catches by old veterans left me feeling inspired at the end of those blow-out games. I have a lot of respect for our team leader Jim, who always sets a good example for the rest of us. He is a big reason our team has had such great experiences during our seasons. No matter the outcome, he sends out a recap of highlights of the game singling out teammates who made good plays and explaining the rules if we had any questionable calls. Good leadership is so important in anything in life. If we are following good leaders whether it be our coaches, pastors, or parents, it helps to shape our lives.
With God as our Father, if we listen to and follow Him, He will not lead us astray. Our life is better with Him in it. He teaches us to love the ones who may seem unlovable. We have to accept that bad call at first base and hold our tongue. We accept being last place in our slo-pitch division, knowing that we will be back in our old division with the teams we really enjoy playing next year. The younger me would have felt so defeated at being sent down to a lower division, but now I am celebrating! God has done some work in me for sure. The end of baseball season means the beginning of indoor volleyball for me. I have left a volleyball team that was first place, but not the best at practising humility. It was not a team known as the “nice team”. I have joined a team that is not number one in the standings, but they have fun and enjoy playing for the fun of the game.
I am thankful for God's hand in all aspects of my life. He makes everything better.
“In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.” – Proverbs 16:9
