Loving Sacrifice

Yesterday was Jackie Robinson Day around Major League Baseball. All players wore his number 42 (Robinson's number) to commemorate the 62nd anniversary of when he broke the color barrier in baseball. This morning on ESPN, they showed a special clip about the impact Jackie had on the game and on this country. They showed different ceremonies in different ballparks around the country. They truly honored him.

Yet, the thing that stuck out to me was an interview that was done with his wife at one of the games yesterday. She said something like this about the early years of her husband's career, "I would sit in the stands and I would hear all the hateful words being yelled at my husband. I would just sit taller in my seat, hopeful that I would be able to block the words from my husband's ears."

Is that cool or what? Those words hurt her and she knew they would hurt her husband. She wanted to take on the hurt so that her husband wouldn't have to. This is true loving sacrifice.

I have heard it said many times that "behind every great man is a great woman." That certainly appears to be the case with Jackie Robinson.

I can tell you that I have a great woman behind me. As we embark on a new and exciting journey in our lives with Truth At Work and some other things God is leading us to, Connie is truly coming alongside me, praying for me, supporting me, loving me and truly being a Proverbs 31 woman. I am so thankful for that!

The truth is, no one can do it alone. So who can you come alongside, pray for, love and support today?

A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth more than rubies. Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value.

Proverbs 31:10-11

I Quit

Have you ever felt like giving up? How about at work? Did you ever just want to tell your boss those famous lyrics, "Take this job and shove it"?

A couple of days ago I put up a post for those who have a Bad Job. Based on the comments received, it has struck a nerve.

One commenter had this to say, "Thanks for the post. I'm going through some crises in my work right now and through out the week I had thought about just quitting, but now I plan on first be thankful to God for the job and the opportunities it has brought my way and secondly change my attitude towards it.(God help me!!!)."

Haven't we all been there before? I know I sure have. This person is making the choice to embrace his or her situation and to look for the good in it. That is awesome!

The one thing that struck me when reading this comment was that, if we are truly looking for a greater purpose in our work, tough times bring about terrific opportunities--in fact, greater opportunities than times of prosperity. It is during challenges that others are typically looking at you to see how you will react.

Look at what is happening in Major League Baseball right now. It is 24/7 coverage of the steroid issue because of Alex Rodriguez's admission that he used performance-enhancing drugs. Everyone is tuning in to see how he will react because he is in hot water.

The same is true of us where you are. If you can act in a Christ-like way, amazing seeds can be planted. Perhaps, someone might even ask you how you are able to react the way you do. Then, you have an open door to share what God is doing in your life.

Embrace the challenge...it can lead to much good!

Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.

1 Peter 3:15b

Passion

I didn't watch any of it but the American League defeated the National League for the 11th straight year in baseball's All Star Game. The game was the longest in major league history as it took 15 innings to decide the winner.

The American League champion will once again have home field advantage in the World Series at the end of the season. On SportsCenter on ESPN this morning, I was struck by how passionate the sportscasters were discussing this game. They were up in arms because they don't think the All Star game should determine home field advantage--they think it should simply be an exhibition game.

Their argument was that because it actually means something, managers will do things not normally done during an exhibition game because they want to win. This, they contend puts players' health at risk.

The way they were discussing this was if world peace depended on a solution to this "problem." I thought about how truly unimportant this was in the greater scheme of life. Yet, I watched intently.

I think I was interested in what they had to say because of one word: Passion. These guys had passion about what they were talking about. You could tell they believed in what they were saying.

We are instructed to do things with passion--to the best of our abilities. So what will you be passionate about?

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.

Colossians 3:23