The Curves of Life
- The Narrow Path
- May 6, 2022
- 3 min read
Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age (Matthew 28:20, NLT).
As part of my job as a physical therapist, I get the opportunity to work with athletes. It’s ideal, because it combines three things I’m passionate about: physical therapy, sports, and engaging with young adults.
I’m currently working with several baseball players, and I recently asked one of them about the different pitches he throws. He rattled off a few, but said his favorite is the curveball. When I asked him why, he said, “I love watching the guys at the plate freeze. They’re expecting a different pitch, the ball hangs up, and then dives at the last second as their bat catches the air.”
Isn’t life often like that, too? We get used to the “fastball” routine of life. Most days we run through the same motions of waking up, getting ready, going to school/work, and then coming home to take care of the house or do activities with kids. As we head into summer, days get longer, supper, bath, and bedtimes get later. All of that typically equates to less sleep, and thus, when life throws a curveball our way, we often aren’t ready for it.
It is so difficult to hit a baseball. As you progress through the stages of the game, from coach pitch to the Major Leagues, the challenge only increases in complexity, and difficulty. Two-seam fastball, four-seam fastball, curve, slider, and change-up make up the primary cluster of pitches that are thrown. Even if you learn to be an excellent fastball hitter at the lower levels of play, because that’s often all you will see, if you can’t learn to adjust to off-speed pitches (like the curve), it’s going to be difficult to be successful as you progress to the higher levels of play.
Life can be that way, too. When you’re a kid, everything feels care-free, and most days you’re just dealing with fastballs: school, snacks, naps, play, baths, and bedtime. As we grow, life gets more complex: puberty, after high school plans, financial responsibilities, marriage, kids, and the list goes on. As a good friend once told me, “Life only gets harder, so the more time you spend growing in your relationship with Christ, the more equipped you’ll be to face the curves of life.” That was nearly ten years ago, and boy was he right.
It’s not always fastballs right down the pipe anymore. As we progress into adulthood, we step up to the plate, and are often challenged with facing the curves of life: financial hardships, sickness, infertility, broken relationships, and so many other things are bearing down on us daily. Through a lot of prayer, tears, and countless hours of counseling, my relationship with Jesus has grown tremendously over the last several years.
The Lord has, and continues, to provide for me in so many ways. Though life is hard, we have the promises of God, like the one from Matthew 28:20, to lean on: “Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
I no longer step into the batter’s box of life expecting only to see fastballs. Because of my growing relationship with Jesus, I am more equipped when it comes to facing the curves of life. Even if I don’t hit every curveball that’s thrown my way, I remember Jesus’ promise that He is there with me, in the batter’s box of life, always. He promises the same thing for you, too.
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