Dave's Deep Thoughts - Congratulations, Pittsburgh Pirates!

Here's Pastor Dave McDowell's weekly devotional that he sends out to members of his church. Dave is my brother and serves as the Music Minister at Stewartstown UMC in PA.

It has been said that "good things come to those who wait".

I just never thought that would include an eye patch and a puffy shirt.

I am a fan of many sports.

Not only am I am fan,

I would like to think that I am a loyal fan.

I don't jump ship when my team struggles.

There is something to be said

for going through the rough times with your team.

It makes the good times even sweeter.

If that's true,

then this season is sweeter than an extra spoonful of sugar in southern sweet tea.

Since my childhood,

I have rooted for one baseball team.

While not mentioning any names,

let's just say if my team was on The Dating Game

and was asked what they liked to do in their spare time,

 plundering on the high seas,

and watching people walk the plank,

would rank right up there.

When I was young,

my team did well,

winning two world series titles and several

league and divisional championships.

Even if they didn't win a title in a given year,

you could count on them to be in contention.

It was easy to be a fan back in the day.

Then 1992 came.

The league championship series.

The seventh and deciding game.

Bottom of the 9th inning.

My team was leading 2-0 and on the verge of going to the World Series.

The opposing team scored a run

and had the bases loaded with two outs.

Then the roof fell in on my team.

A base hit scored the tying and winning runs,

the winning run barely beating the tag of the catcher.

That was it.

I don't mean that was it for the year.

That was it for a generation.

Since that fateful bottom of the 9th meltdown,

my team has proceeded to rack up 20 consecutive losing seasons.

To put it in perspective,

no other team in American professional sports,

including hockey, basketball, and football

has ever gone 20 years without posting at least one winning season.

My team has.

That would make them the worst team in all of sports.

To put in perspective how long ago that was.....

"The Silence of the Lambs" was the big winner at the Academy Awards.

Natalie Cole cleaned up at the Grammy Awards.

Johnny Carson made his final appearance on "The Tonight Show"

Kurt Cobain married Courtney Love.

President George H.W. Bush took ill and vomited at a state dinner in Japan.
The city of Los Angeles became more famous for its riots than its movie stars.

To put it in more modern terms,

the last time the guys on "Duck Dynasty" shaved was when my team lost the pennant.

There were babies born in my team's city, 

who have since gone to college 

and have never seen the team win.

The Boston Red Sox and Chicago White Sox

who have carried two of the longest streaks of not winning the World Series

have since done so.

A lot has happened in my life in those twenty years.

Loss of a parent,

terrorist attacks on the country,

the economic implosion.

I have one less appendix now,

and more gray hair than I care to admit......

But one thing didn't change,

I continued to root for my team.

On Monday, September 9th, in the year of our Lord 2013,

my team won 1-0 for their 82nd win of the season,

thus clinching a winning season.

The earth didn't move that day.

There was no solar eclipse,

and Jesus didn't choose to come back that day.

But on September 9th,

I raised the glass with a group of friends,

with the rallying cry,

"I am not a loser!"

Yesterday, my team won its 90th game

and clinched a spot in the playoffs.

There are things in life

where the only answer is to wait......

and waiting is often not easy

especially if you have a Type A personality like me.

I have heard brothers and sisters in the faith say,

"God helps those who help themselves."

Many quote this well-known phrase as if it was Scripture.

But this phrase is no where to be found in the Bible.

In fact, the sentiment of this phrase is the exact opposite

of the message of the Scriptures.

Time and time again, God's people are called to wait upon the Lord.

That's difficult to understand exactly what that means.

Does that mean we do nothing?

I've known people who are so non-motivated,

their lives are train wrecks.

I think that waiting on the Lord starts with prayer.

Prayer can include an element of waiting,

like waiting for Him  to show you that job you want,

or waiting for Him to reveal to you your future spouse.

But that's not the waiting I think God wants from us.

I have realized that often my prayers

did not reveal a satisfaction with God,

but a dissatisfaction with Him.

I have often prayed my agenda to God,

as if to say that my plans are wiser and better than His.

I have prayed as if I do not trust Him.

I have found that when I pray without an agenda,

my anxieties about life cease.

And when my prayer simply becomes waiting on God,

I come to a place of "being" rather than just "waiting.

Many would say that waiting means doing nothing.

For me, waiting means allowing your soul to grow up.

If you can't be still and wait,

you can't be become all that God created you to be.

My team grew up this year,

after many years of waiting.
After many years of trying quick fixes,

someone in the team's hierarchy took the time

to wait and see what needed to change in order for the team to win.

Good things do come to those who wait upon the Lord.

Now I just hope I look good wearing an eye patch and a puffy shirt this October.

Argh!

Wait for the Lord;

Be strong, and let your heart take courage;

Yes, wait for the Lord.

                                Psalm 27:14