opening day

Opening Day of a new major league baseball season is a holiday in our house. It’s right up there with New Year’s Day and the first day of school as a “fresh start” kind of day. We wear our team t-shirts, eat hot dogs for lunch and tune in to see the first pitch.

I guess you could say Easter is the ultimate “opening day”. The stone rolled away and the tomb was opened. A man who was dead three days prior walked out of the dark cave and said, “Play ball!” Not really. I made that last part up. But “Go and make disciples…” sounds a lot like “Hey, team, go and take the field!”

The world has been closed up for a year, and although it may be too soon to fling wide the gates, we can at least begin the pre-game warmups together. This week I wrote a few thoughts on this:

“Play ball!” will be heard this week from many MLB home plates. Yes, please. Let’s play ball. Let’s all get back in the game.

If you need to stay in the outfield for a while, that’s fine. Just get back on the field. Hopefully, you’ll be able to join the team in the dugout soon.

It’s just that some of us have been trying to cover lots of positions and we’re getting tired. We need you back.

Sure, we’ve been dealt some curve balls and wild pitches, but standing in the box is easier if your teammates are with you, cheering you on. The stadium has been pretty quiet.

Sometimes it seems like there have been more strike outs than home runs, more errors than sparkling double plays, more losses than victories. There have been complaints about the uniforms, the schedule, the coaching. A few went to play for other teams. But thankfully, enough of us kept showing up to avoid forfeiting the season.

Hey! It’s opening day and I’m sensing something new! I can’t wait to hear the crack of the bat and the roar of the crowd. So lace up your cleats and grab your glove because we have a game to play. Please don’t sit this one out.