Monday, December 14, 2009

The Most Important Thing in Life Is Showing Up (Quote from the movie Hardball)


It was the last week of football this season at ASU. They’re getting ready for the biggest game in the year and with the changes in practice times I haven’t been able to show up it to practice in a while.

I show up and jokingly one of the coaches says, “Man, even the people of God bail on you when you’re losing!” We laughed and talked more about why I hadn’t been at practice lately, but the more I thought about it, the more it really bothered me. I hate that I didn’t show up when the team was going through some rough times. I hate that I didn’t show up in my relationships with these players and coaches the way I should. And I hate that, even if it was joking, that the people of God to this coach are people who don’t show up!

It got me thinking about how important it is for Christians to show up in peoples’ lives.
I can think back on times in my life where certain people just showed up and God used that to really impact my life and show me more of Him.

I thought about my dad. In today’s society, to have a father is a blessing in itself, but I had a dad who was involved in my life, who came to my games, to my banquets, to my graduations, he cared enough to discipline me….I had a dad who loved me so much that he showed up in my life.

I can remember when I was playing baseball in high school. I was having a bad season and was starting to get depressed. I was up at the field practicing by myself, pissed off at the world, and without my knowing or permission, my dad drove up. He got out of the car, he let me vent to him, he encouraged me, and we played catch and just talked about what was going on in my life. He showed up to help me when I was struggling!

Another time was again in high school at the end of my senior year in football. It was the last game I would ever play in high school. The game ended, we lost and I was walking around the field, trying not to let the moment go. There weren’t a lot of people left in the stadium, mostly janitors, but I remember my dad walking on the field to meet me and walk with me and tell me he was proud of me. He showed up to be with me in times of loss.

There are plenty other stories of my dad showing up, but God really used these two to remind me of Himself. As I write I think about the passage where it says, “Cast all your cares on Him, because He cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7) My heavenly Father used my earthly father to show me how much He cares for me. Even in the littlest and most insignificant of things, I can bring it to Him and He’ll show up and be there for me!

Another passage I thought of is Jeremiah 29:10-11-“I'll show up and take care of you as I promised and bring you back home. I know what I'm doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for.”

I’m so thankful that we serve a God who shows up in all areas in our lives. I’m so thankful that God blessed me with a father who showed up in my life and used him to teach me about Himself. And I’m so thankful that God loves us so much that He showed up, in the form of man, to be our Savior so that we could know the love He has for us and to be rescued from a life of despair into a future of hope.

I’m also thankful that God’s given me the ability to show up. And as I remember how my dad showed up in my life and how the Lord used it in a mighty way, I pray that he would let me show up in the lives of others and would use me showing up to teach people about the love He has for them!
Love You Dad!!!!