I'm reading through Max Lucado's Cure for the Common Life. My dad enjoyed it because it talks about living in your "sweet spot" every day of your life. He can appreciate such things - he knows what the heck the "sweet spot" is referring to.....sports. Apparently when you hit the ball with your baseball bat at the right moment, or when you swing your racket in tennis and feel that spot, you're in your sweet spot. I wouldn't know. I'm not much of a sports guy.
Max Lucado is not my favorite author. I know, I know, he's like the most influential inspirational writer of all time. That's probably why I don't like to read his books. I don't know - I guess I'm weird that way. One of my friends gave me Max's devotional entitled Grace for the Journey or something like that. It's been a nice selection of Max's favorite passages from lots of his books - - and it allows me to taste them, not read them completely. They are short and to the point, so I enjoy starting & ending my day with his printed thoughts. The ones that hit me the most, every time, are the ones quoted from Cure for the Common Life. While it does talk about sports and that oh-so-wonderful sweet spot that I'm having trouble relating to, it does talk a great deal about being given a unique set of "me" that brings a unique something to this world and should be played out through my work - - something that is taking quite a bit of my time here on this earth. So I decided to buy the book and get it read....no matter what I thought of its author.
Ah.....it's a wonderful read. I'm learning more about myself, why God gave me the creative crazy personality he did, and is confirming the decisions through my life so far.
Yesterday I had the opportunity to take my son to his 4th baseball practice. We have moved on from Upward Basketball and into spring training with Pony 2 Baseball. It's through our community league, not the school or church. I had the opportunity to take him to his first practice just about a month ago. Having first experienced basketball at church and feeling quite out of place, this was a whole new ballgame!
These dads are serious. Their sons were dressed in last year's uniforms. Mine had on a t-shirt and sweatpants. Their sons were donned with worn-in gloves and caps. Mine had a newly purchased Target glove he could barely squeeeeeeeze shut! They received their baseball caps - - my son's is still too big and his ears flop over. Boy it looks like it hurts him, but he says it doesn't. He's #3 - - same as Babe Ruth, he tells me. I didn't know the candy bar bore a number on it! LOL!
Anway, this is the 3rd time I'm bringing him to practice. He has learned a lot already and we have already purchased his gear: glove oil (whew! much easier now), a bat, a couple baseballs, a glove for Daddy (don't you just want to see a picture here!?!?!?!), and some cleats. We are still needing the pants - have to make some time to go to that store. Oh. and I forgot about the cup. Now THAT was a funny conversation to have with my son! Why, from this daddy's point of view, was that a necessary item? You can imagine the conversation.......and you can probably guess I had no idea what I was saying.....and you can believe when I tell you that my son was blushing by the time the conversation had ended. Daddy wasn't much better!
I was out of my league....literally. At the first practice, I was listening to the coaches and trying hard to remember the key phrases being repeated. I knew my son would be asking questions later. As the practices went by, however, Ethan is quite the baseball player and certainly doesn't need me to help him remember his 'moves.'
You see, I'm learning from my friend Max Lucado that my son may have found his sweet spot in the game of baseball. Fortunately for me, I have found my sweet spot as well : reading a book about sweet spots during all upcoming practices!
