Mike Edmisten Follower of Jesus. Husband of Nicki. Father of Ryan & Brock. Communicator of the Word.

Comebacks

Nicki and I recently went to a Reds game with our friends Dave and Shara. Dave's company has four season tickets and Dave and Shara were kind enough to invite us to tag along. The weather was perfect, the seats were stellar, and my soft pretzel was just the way I like it. This was going to be a great evening.

Then the game started. The Reds were as flat as I've seen them this year. Twice they loaded the bases with less than 2 outs and were unable to push one runner across homeplate. The Astros' 3-0 lead began to look insurmountable. Then came the eighth inning. With two runners aboard, Rich Aurilia came to the plate and smoked the first pitch he saw over the centerfield wall. The game was tied and the stadium, which had been very quiet for most of the game, erupted with cheers. The Reds proceeded to tack on one more run to win the game 4-3.

It was so much fun to watch my team come off the mat and win the game. There is something special about comebacks. It shows a lot of character and heart to keep giving your best effort when it seems like everything is stacked against you.

There are times in life when it seems like you're swimming upstream; times when you don't think you're making any progress at all. In those moments, it's easy to quit trying. As recently as today, I said the words, "I give up" when my wife and I were discussing a particular situation we're dealing with. It's a frustrating situation where I'd rather just quit. I don't understand what God is doing in this particular area of our lives, and quite frankly, I'm losing my patience with him. Instead of waiting on his timing, I'd much rather "give up."

But then I remember the ballgame we attended. Good things happen when, instead of throwing in the towel, you keep on trying. When the best we can do is just grind through another day, we just keep on grinding. It's important to remember that, while we can't see the end result, God can. And there's an old song that reminds us: "I know who holds tomorrow…and I know who holds my hand."

That's good incentive to keep going.