The start of a new baseball season is exciting anywhere, but here in the Cincinnati area, home of the Redlegs… Opening Day is a really big deal. There’s an annual parade through town in advance of the game, which is always a sold-out event. Excitement fills the air and everyone you see seems to be wearing black and red as they count down the minutes to the first pitch.
A lifelong baseball fan, you can imagine my delight when a friend asked me to go with her to the game! I almost missed her invitation, as I’d been off on a cruise with spotty internet access when her invite came through online. The message sat unanswered for five days before I returned home and finally saw it. I was sure that by that time my friend would have assumed a lack of response meant I wasn’t interested and would have invited somebody else. Opening Day tickets are a treasure not to be wasted.
Miraculously she hadn’t done so, and we excitedly, if a bit nervously, made our plans to attend together. Our apprehension stemmed from the fact that we had never spent much time together in person in the past. A coworker of my late husband, our friendship was largely limited to comments on each other’s blog posts. Would we be able to connect as well in person, especially at an all-day event?
I needn’t have worried, as we later realized that our get-together was orchestrated by the hand of God, who had plans for our day that transcended the baseball world and the calling of balls and strikes. It turned out He wanted us to open each other’s eyes to some things.
Having arrived in Cincinnati early, we immediately set out to walk along the riverfront area in front of the stadium for a bit and catch up on each other’s lives. At this point we had both been widowed for over five years, and it was interesting to find out how we had each settled into this next stage of our lives. We shared successes and failures, current struggles and recent victories. Words flowed easily between us as the day progressed, the game ensued, and then ended. As we began the long drive home we didn’t recap the game so much as speculate on what the “start of a new season” might mean for each of us this coming year.
It turns out that “Opening Day” really has little to do with baseball and everything to do with living life to the fullest. No matter how long you have been widowed, you, too, have a Friend who invites you to the Opening Day of a new season in your life. It may take you a while to respond to His invitation, but He is content to wait you out, because He is so eager to spend this time with you. You may step out into this new “ballpark” a little tentatively at first, but gradually you come to see that every day that you open our eyes should be greeted with excitement and anticipation as you walk into your field of play.
What new activity or determination might God be opening in you today? It’s important to plan for the future and the abundant life we want to live in it. Maybe you had no time to plan before you found yourself a widow, but there is no time like the present to think now about the years ahead… or better yet, to ask God what His plans for you are… and then work together with Him to bring those things about.
I like to think that Opening Day happens in springtime when all things are fresh and new. Whatever time of year you accept God’s invitation, may you find the same to be true for you.
“’For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’” (Jeremiah 29:11 NIV)
