Baseball Frenzy

I have to confess that I have never been a baseball fanatic. In fact, I'm not into sports at all. My mother and grandfather (who lived with us) were great fans of the St. Louis Cardinals. So whenever they were in the World Series the whole world inside our home was put on hold. One time we visited my aunt and uncle in St. Louis and they took us to Musial and Biggie's restaurant across from Forest Park. Stan "the Man" came by our table and my mother was so awestruck that I thought she never would be the same!

I went to Catholic school and our music nun was an avid sports fan. So during music class we watched the World Series on TV instead of singing - no matter who was playing. In those days it was always the Yankees against some National League team. I didn't care about the game, but it seemed like fun to watch television at school.

I guess there can be a connection made between baseball and religion. Certainly my grandfather would not miss listening to a game on the radio anymore than he would miss Mass on Sunday. In the book pictured here, And God Said, "Play Ball!" author Gary Graf says this:

"There is no right or wrong way to experience baseball or faith. Joy can be found in seeing your first baseball game or your thousandth, from watching fireworks after a home run or understanding the infield fly rule. There is wonder to be experienced in seeing God in the delicate nature of a flower or the vastness of the cosmos, the smile from a child's face or the gratitude that comes from serving others.

"As our knowledge and appreciation of faith and baseball deepens, we find that we are continually rewarded with blessings from each. Thus our task becomes finding those ways in which we are best able to relate to the Game and our God."

I think that can be applied to whatever in life a person is interested in. So if your talent is cooking, or gardening, or flying planes, building models . . . whatever, you can find a connection between what you are doing and God. It is said that the deepest desires of our heart were put there by God. So if we are trying find God's will for us, all we have to do is go inside and see where our own desires lead us. Most likely that is "God's will" for us.

Someone I know once said, "I'm trying to find where my dreams and God's dreams for me intersect." I thought that was a great statement. It's so natural. It means that our own natural instincts are not bad or evil or off base. God has made us to be who we are. As the adage says, "God doesn't make junk." And therefore, the innate feelings and yearnings we grapple with and try to control are really God speaking to us, drawing us to where we are supposed to be.