Trouble With The Curve

I am sitting on the front porch with grandpa and we are listening to the ball game on his small radio. It is a hot August afternoon and from where I am sitting I can see the blue sky, smell the tar weed and hear the quail calling to each other in the field between his house and ours. My imagination is deep into the world far away on that radio. I can hear the announcer describe the day they are having at the ball park, in the background I can hear the fans and I can smell the dirt of the infield. Suddenly the batter strikes out and grandpa slaps his knee. "He always has trouble with the curve ball. He will never make it if he can't hit the curve ball. That's just like life." (Sounds like a Clint Eastwood movie)

Grandpa is wearing his tan pants and a white t-shirt. He gets up and wanders off to move the sprinkler in the yard and leaves me with my thoughts. What is a curve ball I wonder. At five years old that is a big question and as long ago as it was I remember it just like yesterday. Later, I would ask grandpa what a curve ball was and as he is letting the calf graze on the lawn he slowly explains the differences in pitches.

To the average person this is small talk but remember this is my grandpa and at five years old this is an important moment in life. He explains that pitching is different then just throwing the ball and hoping the batter misses it. The pitcher learns to hold the ball different ways so that he can throw different pitches and trick the batter. The more prepared he is the better he will do. Its the batters job to learn to hit those different pitches.

Fast forward some almost 50 years, I am sitting chatting with a friend the other day and he said "you know life can be going along just great and then God throws you a curve." I said "No life throws the curves and God catches or hits them for you."

Isn't it true about most of our troubles? We are cruising along and something happens and we blame God. That is not how it works. Life might throw you different situations but if you are prepared like the batter in the ball game you will be a better hitter.

Too often life gives us challenges and what do we do? We either blame God or ask for his help. I am here to tell you its better to ask for help and it is even easier to know how to do that if you have a relationship with God. You might get in an accident, have the flu, cut your finger or any million other things that could happen. You can blame God or turn to him. It is not Gods fault we have challenges but he is there to help us through them.

So today in my own way I am going to try and describe how this all works. At least how it all works in my mind.

So in the beginning God made man and he called him Adam which means man. Makes sense right? Then God put man in this beautiful garden and said as long as you behave you will never have to water and pull weeds. Adam said "God what are weeds?"

So Adam was content until one day he was talking to God and he said " God it kinda gets lonely in this pretty garden." So God said "Well Adam I can give you an amazing creature. That will be your partner and friend but it will cost you an arm and a leg." Adam thought about this and then said "What can I get for a rib?"

So along came Eve. God said " Now Eve you can stay in the Garden forever but you can't eat the apple from that tree." Well of course one day a snake told Eve that the apples were great and she ate one. Ever since then man has been pulling weeds, dragging hoses and killing gophers. Its kind of true! Really, once the apple was bitten sin enter the world.

Man was warned but God loved us enough that he gave us choices. He still does. Each day we have choices to make. How do I pay the bills? Should I ask that girl out in my math class? Do I exercise? ETC No matter the decision big or small we have choices to make. Sometimes we make good decisions sometimes we don't do so good.

When paying bills the stack of medical ones can look big. The girl in the math class can look great but who is she really? The best way to make decisions...Pray first. Put it in Gods hands. The bible says:

Isaiah 26:4
Trust in the lord forever; he will always protect you.

I get this question all the time..."How do you get through the tough times?" Easy I have a great support system and I put it in GODS HANDS. I may not get the answers the way I want, the road may not go the direction I want it to and it might not turn out the way I want. However, In the long run it is better. We may not see it at first but in Gods hands we are safe. We can hit the curve ball. The stack of bills eventually will go away, the girl in the math class makes a great wife and the cut on your hand will heal and teach you that people who shake with Parkinson's should think twice about using sharp knives.

Yes we ALL struggle with our daily issues. You know mine. I try to hide them but I stumble and people see the challenge before me. We all stumble. Yes I have Parkinson's Disease. Yes I feel awful and achy. Not all the time. So I don't focus on those things instead I place it in Gods hands and I let him bring me peace.

Life will always throw me curves. It will also throw me sliders, change ups and fastballs. Isn't that great. I never know what to look for but it keeps me looking and waiting and excited. It keeps me focused. So I will keep my eye on the ball and live my life inning by inning as I make "My Journey."

This is my Grandpa Elmer. I miss him all the time and someday when
 I get to heaven I am going to run into his arms and bury my face in his neck.