A Black Eye in Sports

Do you know what's the best thing about being hit in the face with a baseball bat?

Nothing! Who in the world could find good in that?

I was a teenager and it was the week before school. My neighbor and I were shooting basketball in the driveway. Breaking ankles. Dropping dimes. Making buckets.

Then somebody had the brilliant idea, "Hey, hit the basketball with this baseball bat!"

I should've remembered something from science class that said "for every action there is an opposite and equal reaction." Newton was brilliant! And as quickly as my bat struck that basketball it ricocheted back against my face. And did it ever hurt my face. And my ego!

How would you like to show up on the first day of school with a black eye and a humiliating story like that to make it even worse? Thank goodness there wasn't YouTube, Facebook, or SnapChat!

The only bright spot that day, and really for the next week, was the shiner around my eye.

We all have stories like that. Some funny. Others not so much. But stories, nonetheless, that we're constantly having to choose between pressing play or the eject button of our mind.

Abandoned. Ashamed. Betrayed. Cancer. Death. Desperate. Divorce. Finances. Grief. Guilt. Heartache. Hunger. Loss. Misunderstood. Poverty. Self-esteem. Suffering. Tragedy. Unwanted. And the list goes on.

We all have stories we wish we could change or wish would've never happened. And for some reason we feel like our experiences are unique and no one else struggles like we do. So we blame others for how we're feeling or hide in fear of being found out.

But we must learn to own our experiences without being defined by them. To realize we all struggle and we can actually learn from our past experiences and share in the process of moving forward when we're honest with others.

Looking back on that dreadful baseball bat experience I've come to realize this; I can relate, on some level, to everyone who's been hit with a baseball bat. I know it may sound silly but we have a common shared experience.

Some 2,000 years ago a man by the name of Jesus comes onto the stage. His incarnation had been forecasted for centuries. And now the time had come. A king was coming onto the stage of human history!

The people of Israel had been waiting and they were ready for justice to be served, their land to be preserved, and their journey to political, religious, and economic prominence to be restored. But what a twist in the anticipated storyline of a coming kingdom. No palace. No servants. No royal festivities. Talk about a major letdown!

He was born in a stable and placed in a feed trough so He understood poverty. He was questioned by His own family when they left Him in the city. He was in the wilderness and became hungry. He spoke of being homeless. He was surrounded by sick people. One of His best friends died.

He was called into question about paying taxes. He was criticized for having dinner with tax collectors. He was wrongfully accused by the religious and political authorities. He was stripped of his clothes and publicly humiliated. He was abandoned by his friends. He was mocked, beaten, and crucified.

His name; God with us. Jesus came. Why? To eliminate every excuse. He became like us, clothed in humanity, to feel, to think, to experience all the toils of this world. To have empathy for the world He loves.

God is not a god who doesn't understand. He completely understands. He humbled himself and came to this earth. He was tempted in every way just as we are. And He came out on the other side; blameless. In essence, He can, on some level, relate to every struggle we have ever experienced.

If He can predict His suffering, death, and resurrection then my confidence remains high that He will keep this promise; I will be with you. He will not abandon us. I really believe this; He's closer than you think. And you can trust Him!