Pick Me Up!

There were seven of us present for the devotional at the Innermission building, Monday night. Initially, I was not in a good mood for a heart-searching discussion. I was tired that evening. The day began with an early meeting and was active throughout. By the time we gathered downtown, I was lacking in start-up energy. When the evening concluded, I had learned a powerful lesson about community.

I was usually the lead-off hitter (back in the softball days). My role was to start a rally. I was to poke a little hole in the defense, that the others would bust wide open. I did not always go as planned. Sometimes I would pop-up or ground-out. That shifted the lead-off role to (most often) Dewey. There was a common team phrase employed during these times, "Pick me up." As I would walk off the field and Dewey would approach the plate, we would make eye-contact and I would say, "Pick me up, Dewey." That was the strength of our team. We understood that we were a team.

Monday night, it was Aaron McCray that picked me up. He lead-off our devotional. What was started was quickly enjoined by the others and a rally commenced. We concluded with a chain prayer. With each prayer, the momentum grew. We quickly escalated to praying big prayers. We were in it together. It was not a collection of individual prayers, it was a team prayer. When the last Amen was spoken and we raised our heads, one guy exclaimed, "That was awesome!"

I believe the team-minded chemistry (and fun-loving spirit) that so-characterized our softball team can be truly realized in our common efforts to advance the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God is so much greater. It involves everyone of us. Everyone adds something to the team. Let us grow in faith to recognize what potential we have together.