In DeFence of Love
My coach certainly had a plan in mind but it didn’t involve destroying a chain-link fence. I’m certain of that. But here I was, laying on the ground with galvanized pipe and fence laying around me while my teammates and coaches pondered my health and their ever-changing plan to win a baseball game.
As it turned out, the game plan only created a new problem in the form of a hyper-active 13-year old Josh. That problem is similar to a bull in a china shop. You see, our little league team was playing a double-header and in order to guide all of the players through an extra set of innings there would be periods of rest and sitting out. So I sat on the bench most of the first game which resulted in a condition where I felt like I was crawling out of my skin. I wanted to play and to play hard! I wasn’t a big asset as a hitter but put me anywhere on defense and I would make plays. And the last time I checked a team needs to make outs to win baseball games! I knew I was needed and had a spot, I just needed to be in the lineup.
So by the time our second game rolled around I was desperate to burn off some energy. I was doing everything in the field while my teammates were having batting practice. You name a spot on the field and I was running, throwing, and catching. My coach probably thought he was smart for “resting” me but then a ball came off the bat and lazily faded into foul territory…
But even though there was nothing to be gaining by catching a pop fly IN BATTING PRACTICE I gave pursuit. Even in my mind I knew it was a stretch but the longer the ball stayed in the air the faster my feet went. It seemed to hover in mid-air when I made my last stride before launching into a dive. That’s right, my body became horizontal as I stretched and extended to get the baseball to land in my mitt. With the ball just touching my glove I then heard the sound of steel straining and my body start to slow-motion crumple as the chain link fence swayed, absorbed my hit, and then pushed back, leaving me in a crumpled mess with the baseball on the ground.
My coach made the game plan but it was not to be. I certainly put a wrench into those plans when I couldn’t contain my excitement and dove into a fence. Have you ever made plans only to have someone else mess them up?
Of course you have! People always mess up our plans! It’s a daily occurrence when someone cuts us off, says the wrong thing, does the wrong thing, or simply doesn’t line up to our plan. And you know what? It’s ok.
The best part of that dive into a rusty chain link fence was that it had some give. It swayed, leaned, and absorbed the impact. It let me down softly, even though I ran into it at full speed.
The tricky part about our plans is that sometimes we make them too rigid. And then our response to failed plans is even worse!
The nice thing about my coach was that he cared for me after I ruined his game plan. In hindsight he might have not recognized the degree to which I wanted to play and the chance to play 2 (!) games far superseded any fatigue I may have had. I was born to endure and play! He could have easily ripped me for diving for a pointless foul ball.
Plans can be good. Especially when they are God-breathed and ordained. But more than anything our response to broken, messed-up, and thwarted plans says a lot about our walk of faith. Do we look at others the way God does even after they mess up our plans? Are we like a brick wall to them or do we have some give and flex, where we can still muster up love despite the loss of a plan? Having some flexibility means that we have a deeper understanding of them and how God sees them. Maybe our plans were faulty in that we didn’t see others accurately!
We have all been there. It’s not a new phenomenon either! Check out the book of Jonah. He didn’t really want to go where God wanted to send him. He had other plans. The book goes on with a whale and Jonah getting swallowed up, spit out, and then he adjusts his plans. By the end of the book Jonah does what he’s called to do and yet is still angry at other people. But God explains His compassion and love for others isn’t for us to judge. We are simply to follow Him, and often times that means loving those that wreck our plans.
I walked away from my batting practice mishap because of a forgiving fence. Plans were changed and glasses were broken but God’s love for me remained intact. My coaches were also supportive and adaptable to a revised lineup. When we experience a change of plans are we rigid or do we have some flex because we know God loves them as well? We can always plan but God has the last say. Might as well live with love when the plan works…and when it fails in spectacular fashion!
