When Good Fans Go Bad: a lesson in faith
Living in Seattle I have become accustom to following bad sports teams. Bad baseball teams, bad football teams, bad basketball…wait we don’t have one of those anymore.
In any event, I follow them whether they are doing good or bad. However something unthinkable happened this evening.
Around the beginning of the 7th inning at tonight’s Mariners game, my friend who I went to the game with, asked if we should head out. We were down 7-0 and quite frankly it didn’t look as though there was any chance of us coming back. Nevertheless trying to be somewhat optimistic I suggested that we wait until after that Mariners had batted in the bottom of the 7th.
Well the bottom of the 7th came and went with only one run scored, leaving us down by 6 runs. So we left….
FAIL!
In the 8th and 9th innings the Mariners rallied to score 7 more runs to win the game 8 to 7 and we missed it.
We went from being a part of the paltry but die-hard crowd of 13,000 fans, to being one of the many fair weather fans who left the game early and missed the incredible comeback.
Truthfully we lacked faith. Faith in the pitching, faith in the hitting, faith in the team.
Unfortunately I think we do this a lot in life in general. We pack up and head for the exits because it seems unlikely that things will conclude the way we would like. We lack faith and we end up missing the excitement of an unexpected victory whether that be personal, professional, or perhaps even spiritual.
What I know to be true is that faith is an essential part of living a full life and it is paramount that we work to avoid the temptation to “leave the game early.” Until a door has been fully closed, even the slightest crack leaves rooms for light to shine through.
Whether you are going through a challenge personally with friends or family members, professionally with your job, or perhaps in your walk with God, let me encourage you to maintain your faith, even if it appears as though the outcome is less than desired.
You never know when with two outs you’ll connect and drive home the winning run.
Posted on April 12th, 2011 by David | 12 Comments »
Ouch.
Ouch is right. I rarely leave games early and this is essentially why. You never know what might happen.
Ouch indeed. Oh David – I’m so sorry. I heard about the glorious comeback last night. We too have been guilty of leaving a Mariner game early when there was no hope in sight. I guess we won’t do that again – and I’m sure you won’t either
No way Cindy. I don’t normally leave early but last night it very cold and it really looked like there was no chance of them coming back.
They don’t call it the 7th inning stretch for nothing! That’s a bummer man. It would have been awesome to watch that comeback.
I’m thankful that I’ve had friends and family stick it through with me when I was down. Those who were there have seen a pretty incredible comeback in my life!
It is definitely a blessing to have friends and family who are willing to walk beside you during difficult times. Friends and family who have the faith to believe that things can be different.
All too often we pack it up because we don’t believe, for one reason or another, than a change can take place and we miss remarkable transformations.
Thanks for jumping into the conversation Tony. It’s great to have your perspective.
Thank you. I needed to read this tonight. It’s a sweet reminder. Love you!
Glad you enjoyed the post mom. I appreciate you reading the ol’blog.
You left?! Wait, I would have too.
Great analogy and sorry you missed seeing the win live.
It ain’t over ’til it’s over.
The killer is that I rarely leave a game early. I like sticking around the the end. I enjoy the ballpark experience so to leave early is a big no no for me. I suppose this just reconfirms the need to stick around for the whole game.
Some of my best moments in a ballpark is when I stood until the final strike. I’ve seen some amazing comebacks and the crowd really gets into it. The best!
In spiritual things, I would like to believe it’s the same. When god comes in those late innings and we get to see the wonderful stuff he does and it brings the same excitement. But as you pointed out, we give up early in the game. #shame.
I think we end up checking out early because we hope God will come through, rather than expecting Him to come through. I think there is a significant, fundamental difference and it radically changes how we live out our faith.