What Do You See Number 5?

What do you see number five? What can you see, your number is bigger than your age. Do you know what's going on with the opening ceremonies of baseball season? You heard something about pizza later and suffer through all that grown ups put you through just to play a game. So you stand in center field and take it all in. What do you see? Can you see your mom and baby sister? Have you spotted Grammy and Boppy yet? Maybe you are too far away and the scene is too chaotic and you can't single out the ones you love just yet. Not to worry, they are there. In one way or another they always will be.

What do you see number five? Could be you don't know where to look or what to look for. Could I help you a bit? Look, see all the people. There are all kinds of people out there. There is your dad behind you, there are teammates to your left and right. There are people who know you and many who don't. There are people who would have good and kind intentions toward you out there and there are some who would do you harm. You will do well if you can learn to tell the difference. Be careful 'till you know which are which. The ones you know who love you will help you here. Keep listening to them. That will be hard in about ten years. That's okay, do some hard things. Remember, most of those people in the stands are spectators. They are there to watch. They will yell "Yeah!" when you do well and groan and even boo when you get a little older when you mess up. Don't pay much attention, spectators are there to watch. Look a little closer to you. See the field? That's why you are there.You are there to engage, strive, try, fail, try again, fail again, succeed,  win, lose and enjoy participating in something that was before you, is bigger than you, and will be around after you. Keep looking for those things. Stay on the field of engagement.  Enjoy the moment, the teammates, the coaches, the game itself,  but don't worry about the spectators, they just watch.

What do you see number five? Mind if I show you something else? Beyond the field, beyond the stands of spectators, look again. Do you see them? There are mountains back there. They loom in the distance. You live with them everyday but they are there in your distance now. One day you will face them from a different perspective. They will be up close. Some of those mountains in your future you will climb. Some of them will prove too steep, too formidable to climb, so you find a way  to go around them. Some you can't climb, some you can't go around so you learn to live in their shadow. That seems sad at first glance, like you are giving up and quitting. Only your heart can tell you if that is the case. But those mountains you never quit on or never gave up on but you still couldn't put behind you needn't cause you to despair. There you can learn to live in the shadows and valleys of mountains too tall to climb or too wide to cross. In their shadows there is shelter, there is coolness when the rest of life seems too hot. In the valleys there is fertile soil to grow wonderful things to feed your soul. So don't fear those mountains, face them.  In time you will know what to do with each mountain.

So how will you know number five which spectators will encourage and which will harm you? How will you know when to strive and when to relax? How will you know which hard things to do and which mountains to climb and which live with?  I can't give a definite answer, but this I know. Keep doing what you are doing right now. And what is it you are doing right now? Why number five, you are looking toward home. Always keep looking there and learning how to get there. That's the clue, always head toward home.

Philippians 3:20; Hebrews 12:22-24
Can you see that number 5?
Cos