Balks of Life

Anyone that knows me knows how much I like baseball.

I enjoyed playing baseball growing up and I like baseball now that I’ve grown up.

There’s something in baseball called a ‘balk.’

A balk is when the pitcher deceives a baserunner by making them think they’re gonna throw a pitch. It’s one of those rules that’s often left up to an umpires interpretation of deception. It’s also a rule with a laundry list of what the pitcher can do and what the pitcher can’t do.

Sometimes, life can feel like it balks us.

• We expect one result, but we get another.
• Someone we know seemed to be trustworthy, but they behaved differently.
• A situation seemed to be perfect, but turned out difficult.
• A project seemed sure to do well, but goes terribly wrong.
• Something seemed worthwhile, but ended up being a waste of time.

During the ‘balks’ of life, it can be tempting to completely do a 180 and try something else entirely.

But, what if the result we got happened because of something that was slightly off?
What if the situation was just what we needed, but the bump in the road was our opportunity to improve?

Don’t abandon just because it seems to be the only option.

Sometimes, failure is just an opportunity to begin… more intelligently.

Don’t let the balks of life rattle your faith in God’s call.