Pitching For The Hiroshima Carp

We all have big dreams. With our God-given talents and abilities we build our dreams with the sky-is-the-limits attitude. And then, life happens.

A young baseball player, a pitcher by skill, charting his course to baseball success. Each step along the way building upon the last and his future seems to whisper victory. And then a rotator cuff injury. And then, a shot in the spotlight . . . pulled in to cover for an injured Major League player goes terribly - a horrible first impression given to the major leagues when the green hopeful crumbles under the big lights.

And then worse.

"Hey man, I heard you left the country. What are you up to these days?"

"Uh. still playing ball. Yeh, I'm playing with the Hiroshima Carp."

"The what? chuckle chuckle. You're playing for the WHO??????"

"I know, I know. looking down at his sneakers Yeh, me and my family we moved to Japan. I'm playing for the Hiroshima Carp."

That's rough. Not what a "wanna be" superstar wants to admit. I'm playing for a Japaneese team - the Carp team. Do you know Carp? Are you kidding? There is nothing grand about Carp. It's not powerful like a viking or a giant or a tiger.

And yet, tonight as I watch the World Series, a confident Colby Lewis shoots a steel glare at the batter, and winds up his arm ready to unleash a bullet.

When asked if he was nervous about the World Series, Colby says, "No. Uprooting my family and moving to Japan for me to play for the Carp? That scared me. This does not scare me."

You see, that detour that hurt his ego, that detour that was so unplanned, embarrassing, degrading, upsetting, which he could have seen as an impossibility worthy of scrapping a career . . . actually turned out to be the detour that he needed. The additional training, the focus, the redirection of playing for the Carp made him a better player . . . which he admits . . .and today . . . he is a champion with his team playing in the World Series.

Has your path ever taken a detour? Do you have a black eye from a bad experience in the major leagues of life? Are you down and out? Are you alone in the dugout with your cap in your hand scanning the empty seats littered with empty paper cups wondering the fate of your big dreams after what's just happened?

Maybe God's got you pitching for the Carp right now on a detour that is training you up for the big leagues. You see, in God's training no effort goes wasted. He is raising you up to be better than you ever knew.

Keep pitching. Even if it's for the Carp for a while.

Friendly Fire

The Washington Post told the story, "Kidnapped British aid worker in Afghanistan killed in NATO rescue attempt". She was 36 years old. Speaking of her profound love and commitment to her cause, the story continued . . .

"We are saddened beyond words by the death of a wonderful woman whose sole purpose in Afghanistan was to do good - to help the Afghan people achieve a measure of prosperity and stability in their everyday lives as they set about rebuilding their country," James Boomgard, the president and chief executive of DAI, said in a statement. "Linda loved Afghanistan and cared deeply for its people, and she was deeply committed to her development mission. She was an inspiration to many of us here at DAI and she will be deeply missed."

As forces were amassed, as the intensive rescue operation was planned, as skilled teams set forth to risk their lives, they knew there was a possibility that people would be hurt, even dying, to leverage the retrieval of this one woman.

Sadly, after much investigation, one of the lives lost in the rescue attempt was the very life which was sought to save. Linda's.

It was the last thing people wanted to see happen. It broke hearts, devastated family members and horrified those who walked through the rubble.

It was a failure.

Or was it? When we endeavor to rescue, when we set our path to save, sometimes people do get hurt even when the motives are noble.

Friendly fire. A risk in all great endeavors. The last thing anyone wants to see, and yet, a risk we take in our deepest relationships, pursuit of our dreams, most compassionate attempts to reach out, save, protect . . . and yet, without taking that risk all would be lost anyway.

Take the risk. Rescue what is lost. Free what is captive. Life is about redemption.

Risk the possibility of being wrong, the possibility of making huge mistakes, even loss, for the possibility of saving something precious.

Risks of the greatest kind are the seed to the most powerful miracles. Hurt is always a possibility in any great and impossible endeavor. And the attempt is the only way you know for sure what is truly possible . . .

All She Knew Was She Loved Monkeys

Destiny. Anthony Robbins touts about his "blind date with Destiny". We all are pursuing it, actively or passively. What is "my" destiny? How will I find it? Does God have it written out for me? Is it in pieces like a puzzle in front of me waiting for me to put all the edges together first and then fill in the middle?

My eyes and heart scan the horizon for stories of Destiny. How did other women find theirs or essentially carve theirs out of life like a stone David . . .

And I find the story of Jane Goodall. The woman who single-handedly set the scientific community in an uproar over discoveries in the monkey community and whose name will go down in history as the woman who lived among them. Did she know at the start that would be her legacy, her destiny? I think not. She just knew she liked monkeys. That was all.

A young Jane Goodall went into the jungles of the Gombe Stream Game Reserve with basically no education to speak of, not even an undergraduate degree. She just wanted to watch monkeys.

As she observed she found "Greybeard" - the old chimp that opened her eyes to the depth of the monkey connection. From him she learned insights, patterns and habits that would put in question previous understanding. Greybeard changed paradyms in Jane's mind, as well as the paradyms in science and history. What she thought she knew, what the scientific community thought they knew, was about to change forever.

And thus is the pattern. A desire, a "like" an attraction, a "love" draws us to a new place. In that new place we find teachers and lessons that change us. And that learning, that changing, is our destiny.

What are you being drawn to? What new unconquered terrain are you compelled to explore? And who are the teachers around you? Are your paradyms shifting? Is your thinking being challenged?

Your destiny requires you to move out of your comfort zone and learn and change.

The root being love - because love draws us out. It compels us to stretch.

Great women of destiny have been drawn out for love - Ruth Hadler in her creation of Barbie, Princess Diana in her love of those sick with AIDS, Mother Teresa in her compassion for the dying, "Daisy" Low who founded the Girl Scouts of America in her encouragement of teenage girls discovering the great outdoors....each a destiny which drew them out for love.

A blind date with destiny doesn't have to be so blind. The heart sees it clearly. Follow love and your destiny will follow.

All Jane knew was she loved monkeys.

Hmmm...Paris. One more item on my life list - check. Never thought I could ever go back. Beautiful. Magical.

This song brings muted images in black and white . . . it's been 20 years and still the thought of the Eiffel Tower in the back drop, the bridges, the culture, the taste . . .

Here's the link to Benton Paul's song "Paris" . . . feel the cobblestones . . . homesick for a black and white life - and an understanding for the shades of gray.


http://www.myspace.com/bentonpaul

There comes a time for everyone
To find a place where they belong
Feeling alone out on the ocean

Yours and mine are different yet the same
Go out, come back again
Harboring most of the emotion

Quand tu arrives a Paris
(when you arrive in Paris)
Tu ne veux pas partir
(you won't want to leave)
Quand tu arrives a Paris
(when you arrive in Paris)
Tu ne peux que sentir
(you can't help but feel)
L’amour, la joie
(love, joy)
Tu veux jamais rentrer
(you won't ever want to go home)
L’amour, la joie
(love, joy)
Tu veux jamais rentrer chez-toi
(you won't ever want to go home)

You climb aboard and sail away
Beyond the stars of everyday
Searching for some clear direction

The shore gets closer everyday
The clouds begin to fade
The compass reveals your destination

Quand tu arrives a Paris
(when you arrive in Paris)
Tu ne veux pas partir
(you won't want to leave)
Quand tu arrives a Paris
(when you arrive in Paris)
Tu ne peux que sentir
(you can't help but feel)
L’amour, la joie
(love, joy)
Tu veux jamais rentrer
(you won't ever want to go home)
L’amour, la joie
(love, joy)
Tu veux jamais rentrer chez-toi
(you won't ever want to go home)

Beautiful. Magical.

Homesick in black and white.

Reverse Psychology - Run The Other Way

Run the other way. I'm learning I say that to myself.

There is such a tendency to pick up your bat and ball and go home. It's natural. We get our feelings hurt. We feel discouraged. We want to give up.

And wow. Isn't that our ultimate demise in achieving any great pursuit? Giving up or giving out robs us of victory.

Sometimes we see our losses and close our hearts. "I don't want another puppy" as we bow our heads and decide love and dreams will never grow where despair and hurt reside. It's too heavy. It's too hard.

Yet, when we fall to our knees and unpack those bags of hurt and pain and loss at the feet of Jesus . . . what consistantly happens is from behind His white robe He extends a warm hand, holding a newborn fluffy yellow chick. A new dream. A dream that needs us. A dream with a future.

And He asks us to stay and nourture it and love and grow . . . and He trades our filthy rags and clutter for that baby chick.

And we don't want to run anymore. We want to participate and be needed and make a difference.

God has an irresistable influence in our lives by the way He changes us when we want to run away. Running is OUR nature. HIS nature is the opposite - He draws us out by our bigger desire . . . to be used in the hand of God.

Wanting to run away in your life?

Hold out your hand.

God gave me a little yellow peeping fluffy chick to give you . . . smile. God knows you. And He knows in your heart you don't want to run. You want to stay. You want to love. You want to grow. You want to be amazing. It's as easy as holding your dreams as sweetly as you would this little baby chick.

Peace-Loving in the City

At night I love to open the blinds to my master bedroom window and fall asleep watching the lights of the city twinkling on the horizon. It is a peaceful feeling that is comforting in a way I can't quite explain.

In my bible time I came across a story in which a specific phrase keeps echoing in my mind. Here is the setting:

2 Samuel 20:14-22 Sheba was an evil wanted man. He escaped to a city called Abel and hid himself among the people there. Joab and his army was searching for Sheba. Recognizing that in their pursuit of Sheba, the entire city of Abel could be destroyed, a woman of wisdom came to the wall of the city and had a very straitforward conversation with Joab. "I am one who is peaceloving in this city. Why do you want to destroy us?" (paraphrasing)

To which Joab replied "I do not want to destroy your city. I only want Sheba."

The story concludes with the woman and her fellow citizens giving Joab what he needed and peace in the city was maintained.

In our relationships we often become defensive and build walls. We can feel threatened and frustrated when we feel attacked. This is normal.

What shows wisdom however is when we say what we need concisely, and find out what the Other needs. How can we maintain our city, our boundaries, our sovereignty, and also give the Other what they need? Is there a way to do both? Many times both parties are looking for resolve and peace.

Ponder the statement of that wise woman . . . "I am one who is peaceloving . . . " If your goal is to be at peace, grow peace, flourish in it, and nourture peace . . . stand in that place firmly and listen.

That is powerful holy ground. Find it.

Before I close my eyes tonight I will open my blinds and God and I are going to have a conversation. As I drift away in the glimmer of twinkling lights, my heart will be asked, "have you been peaceloving?"

God bless me to be that person today -

The Sky Is Falling

Our family went to Lake Powell for a few days last week. The weather was amazing and the water was perfect. We squealed as we tubed the lake, sweated as we hiked the incredible red rocks, and enjoyed friends and random silliness. We camped our tents a 20-minute boat ride from the marina and soaked up the scenery completely.

I'll never forget being awaken during the night by boulders pulling away from their settings and crumbling to new places. In all of my trips to Lake Powell I'd never experienced that. The thundering echoed like the cracking of a bowling ball into pin after pin - only louder - shaking the ground. In the dark we could not see the boulders cracking and tumbling but the reality left us all speechless. We were not in danger's way . . . but as the waves of breaking rock echoed, we all had a sense of awe and smallness. That night the landscape changed.

This morning I received a text from my daughter that a dear friend had passed away in the night. As well, the news reported that a handfull of homes had been lost to a tragic wildfire just cities away from ours. And on facebook I sadly noted two police officers were killed in their vehicles as they sped to help others. The landscape has changed forever overnight for many families.

To realize we are simply visitors here, that we are surrounded by forces we do not control, and that the landscape is always changing, ebbing, flowing, building and falling . . . it is powerful.

What is my part God? What DO I control?

We control relationships. That is all. We get to choose who we love and how we love on this journey. We affirm our character and our humanity by the way we reach out and encourage, bless, and carry those who suffer when the landscape does change.

Today the landscape is forever changed for someone. Be there.

It's all part of the big picture. In reality, that IS the big picture.