Daily Devotion:

Title: Bleacher Chatter

Date: January 23, 2013

On little league try-out day, Vic rode his bike on the city sidewalks to the ballpark behind his elementary school. He rode with his glove dangling from the handlebars, nervous, but with big league dreams. Vic signed up along with a couple hundred other kids and waited. Over the tinny loudspeaker a voice said, “Vic Rivera, on deck.” 

The first pitch came fast. Vic swung. “Strrrriiike one!”

On the next pitch, he hit. The ball sailed high over the second baseman. Vic ran. The center fielder was picking dandelions. He missed the catch. It turned into a homerun. 

The team that won the previous year’s all-city championship picked Vic. Now before you get the wrong idea, you need to know that that homerun was the only ball Vic had ever hit, and as it turned out, it was the only ball he hit that entire season.  

Coach Battelini had the wrong idea that Vic was some great ball player – only Vic wasn’t. That homerun was a fluke. He was the worst player on the best team. After a while, Coach Battelini was okay about it.  He taught Vic how to swing, and eventually how to hit.  

His teammates scolded him and grumbled at him. Team-parents reproached his coach saying, “Take him out!”

Let’s Pray: Dear God, don’t let us sweat the small stuff, and thanks for the coaches with backbone. Help adults understand what matters and what does not. Amen.

Here’s a Thought: God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad.

Source: Hebrews 4:13 NRSV “And before him no creature is hidden, but all are naked and laid bare to the eyes of the one to whom we must render an account.”