Eyes on the Ball

It was the bottom of the 5th inning, bases were loaded. A young, nine year old Dom stood at the plate with a borrowed bat and a helmet one size too large. The first pitch came. High and outside, a wild swing and a miss. I remember my coach yelling at me to stop swinging at those crazy pitches but the moment had consumed me. 

I finally had the chance to hit a grand slam. This was every kids dream. I remember spending hours at the batting cages creating this very scenario in my head and honestly, the expectations of the moment made me lose focus. 

I could hear my family cheering for me, the kids on both sides holding their breath in anticipation, I even remember kids and parents going to other games stopping in the parking lot to watch this moment unfold. It was all too much for me. Pitch number two came. High and outside. Another wild swing and a miss. 

As my coaches yelled at me again, I remember looking down the third base line and seeing my dad leaning over the fence. He gave me his patented fist pump and I knew exactly what that meant. Whether at the batting cages, or playing wiffle ball in the front yard, he would always tell me, “keep your eyes on the ball” and then gave a little fist pump. 

So I did. I focused, forgetting everything else around me and watched the baseball. 

Pitch three came, another pitch high and outside. This time I didn’t miss. I swung with all the strength my nine year old frame could muster and made perfect contact with the center of the bat. The ball soared over the fence and I was able to live out my childhood dream. 

It’s funny how you can look back at your younger self and learn so many life lessons. 

Often times in our walk with The Lord we can get distracted by the “things” of God. The healing, deliverance, provision even the miracles. These are all good things but we have to remember that they are not the prize! He is! 

We must keep our eyes on the Thing that matters.

Matthew 6.33 -  But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

Yes the healing and miracles will come, and I believe Jesus wants those things for us too. But they come as a byproduct of our focus on Jesus.

Every month I start out fasting for the first three days. As I begin my fast for September I realized that over the last few weeks my eyes had fallen off of the prize onto other things. It’s crazy how easily it can happen. 

My prayer today was this.

“Jesus, please help me to keep my eyes on you. In the good, bad and ugly times I want to be locked into your gaze. No matter what is going on around me I want to be focused on what will always be the most important thing in my life, You.”

I will leave you with some of the best advice my dad ever gave me. 

“Keep your eyes on the ball”

Live right, love everyone and pray hard!