How Far Our Impact?
Wednesday. Hump Day. Midweek doldrums, unusually without the prospect of gathering with my brothers and sisters in Christ to cheer me up. Even the four job applications I aspire to complete each morning were difficult to come by. Promising possibilities seemed especially likely to stall with the requirement of a driver's license my disability prevents.
The Lord had an interesting way of showing that His glory is not checked or confined. First, the biblical cadence to "Be of good courage," sounded a lot like, "PLAY BALL!" The Braves' unusual noontime start led my thoughts to lie down in the green pastures of SunTrust Park. That the game is there when you need it, said Washington Post columnist Thomas Boswell in Ken Burns's Baseball documentary series, is consolation enough. Today I needed it.
There's more. Atlanta's starting pitcher for the day is Mike Foltynewicz, blessed with a path straight enough toward success that he was one of the first picks in baseball's draft at the age of 20. Although his journey from glory to glory would seem to have left Foltynewicz, now all of 26, little time for reflection, he surprised me pleasantly. On the pregame show, he shared with the announcers an unlikely minor-league encounter. Shortly after he began in professional baseball with the promise, the pitching coach on the opposing team introduced himself gingerly and suggested that by leaning back a little more, the prospect to throw the ball even faster. The pitcher still thinks enough of the gesture that the story accompanies the opportunities his success presents.
There's still more. The extra-mile advice continues to reverberate in its impact. Because a coach went beyond his job description, beyond competitive advantage, and because Foltynewicz has been so forthcoming with his gratitude, a caller on today's pregame show let the young hurler know that the caller's son implemented the same advice the coach gave Foltynewicz and is getting a college scholarship as a result.
My pitching advice, throw strikes and make the most of that scholarship or that salary for the time when the unusual gift of tolerance for shoulder and elbow torque is no longer lucrative, not so helpful. Nevertheless, my virtual trip to the ballyard reassures me that our impact continues well beyond what someone pays us to do, that Heaven may be Heavenly in part because we will get to see the second-degree, third-degree, 70th degree impact with which Christ has been pleased to use a word with which we tried to help in an otherwise unremarkable moment. That story I told another prospective history teacher by faith over and above the essential requirements for the next step in the enrollment process might be gaining momentum yet. I will certainly be more grateful for every opportunity to tell it.
The Lord had an interesting way of showing that His glory is not checked or confined. First, the biblical cadence to "Be of good courage," sounded a lot like, "PLAY BALL!" The Braves' unusual noontime start led my thoughts to lie down in the green pastures of SunTrust Park. That the game is there when you need it, said Washington Post columnist Thomas Boswell in Ken Burns's Baseball documentary series, is consolation enough. Today I needed it.
There's more. Atlanta's starting pitcher for the day is Mike Foltynewicz, blessed with a path straight enough toward success that he was one of the first picks in baseball's draft at the age of 20. Although his journey from glory to glory would seem to have left Foltynewicz, now all of 26, little time for reflection, he surprised me pleasantly. On the pregame show, he shared with the announcers an unlikely minor-league encounter. Shortly after he began in professional baseball with the promise, the pitching coach on the opposing team introduced himself gingerly and suggested that by leaning back a little more, the prospect to throw the ball even faster. The pitcher still thinks enough of the gesture that the story accompanies the opportunities his success presents.
There's still more. The extra-mile advice continues to reverberate in its impact. Because a coach went beyond his job description, beyond competitive advantage, and because Foltynewicz has been so forthcoming with his gratitude, a caller on today's pregame show let the young hurler know that the caller's son implemented the same advice the coach gave Foltynewicz and is getting a college scholarship as a result.
My pitching advice, throw strikes and make the most of that scholarship or that salary for the time when the unusual gift of tolerance for shoulder and elbow torque is no longer lucrative, not so helpful. Nevertheless, my virtual trip to the ballyard reassures me that our impact continues well beyond what someone pays us to do, that Heaven may be Heavenly in part because we will get to see the second-degree, third-degree, 70th degree impact with which Christ has been pleased to use a word with which we tried to help in an otherwise unremarkable moment. That story I told another prospective history teacher by faith over and above the essential requirements for the next step in the enrollment process might be gaining momentum yet. I will certainly be more grateful for every opportunity to tell it.
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