Monday, June 1, 2015

When you are just a bit out of your "league".........

Yesterday Ken and I went to a birthday party for a one year old!  First Birthdays are so much fun, even though the guest of honor rarely seems to understand what is happening.  The guest of honor was the son of Gwen's best friend since childhood.  It is so special that Anna is so close in age to Dexter.
But the day was less than stellar weather wise....it was in the 40's and windy and cloudy.  Yes, it is one day short of June, but this is Chicago!  At any rate, the kids were outside playing and I was watching this....
Zeke was playing baseball.  He was waiting for anyone to pitch the ball to him.  Yes, I said PITCH the ball to him.  And just a reminder, Zeke just celebrated his 4th birthday!  He is only 4 years old.  I watched him hit ball after ball after ball.  And the sad thing is that when he is finally old enough to play organized sports, he will need to play Tee Ball for several years. Sigh.  He clearly could be playing now, but he will need to wait awhile!  Anything that involves a ball is just fine with Zeke.  I wasn't the only one watching.........
Anna saw every thing Zeke did.  As soon as Zeke had moved on to football, Anna went for the bat. And as you can see, it is as big as her!  She would not stop until someone threw the ball towards the bat and it actually made contact.  She was so pleased with herself!  At just 16 months old she has lots of time to wait till she can actually play ball.  

I was thinking about this picture of Anna.  I know that there have been lots of times that I have picked up on something that was really way too big (or way too heavy, or way too hard, or way more than I can handle).  Sometimes, like Anna, I have been watching someone else using a gift or talent or practicing a skill, and then I decide that maybe I should try that.  Wow, this is usually a big mistake. At least Anna was only holding a plastic bat that didn't weigh very much.   There have been times when I have found myself in a very sticky place when I have ventured into an area that I should never have even thought about walking into.  You know it is a fine line between trying out new things and taking on a task that someone else should do.  Yes, it is good to know your gifts and your talents and also to know your limits.  It is often better to let someone else do the job...or to call on someone else to do the task than to attempt it yourself.  I am sure that there is a deeper message in this tonight...I think I will have to take awhile to let it sink in.  

Tonight I am thankful that Ken knew that he could not replace our hot water heater.  So tomorrow a very good plumber will come and install a new water heater for us. We will not have to go to multiple stores to buy the new water heater.  We will not have to worry about getting a very BIG heater home in our very small cars.  We will not have to make the always multiple trips to the hardware store that ANY plumbing job requires.  We will not have to worry about getting rid of our old heater.  And I am so thankful tonight that tomorrow night at this time, we will once again have hot water! 

Jesus, thank you for birthdays and times together.  Holy Spirit, help us to know our limits and to use our gifts and talents wisely.  Thank you for gently reminding us when we are considering something outside of our gifts and talents.  Continue to give us revelation of all that you are speaking to us through this.  Amen




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