Dear Rose Park,
This past Friday, Simon had his first baseball practice through Holland Little League. Along with another dad, I volunteered to be the coach of his team, the Guardians. There are twelve little boys on the team, each of them coming from different backgrounds and experience levels, but all of them seem to be eager to learn and try new things on the baseball field.
Within a few minutes of throwing, fielding, and hitting we could tell there were some boys who clearly had played baseball before and there were others who were putting on their glove for the very first time (or at least the first time since last season). Some talked about playing baseball with older siblings or their dad in the backyard while others were much more interested in playing in the dirt and rolling in the outfield grass. Regardless of their abilities, I was pleasantly surprised in their willingness to try a new drill, a new way to hold their glove, or even a new way to swing the bat. These 12 little boys reminded me again of the value in our willingness, not our ability, to try new things.
As a pastor, I often hear the phrase “I’m not any good at _____” or “I’m more comfortable doing ____” or even the over-spiritualized phrase “I’m not gifted in that area” to avoid trying something new. I fully appreciate the fact that God has gifted us all in unique ways to bless the Kingdom of God. Not everyone is gifted to be a teacher. Not everyone is gifted to be a prophet. Not everyone is gifted to be a scientist or a mathematician. However, if we take this thought too far to the extreme (which we often do) we convince ourselves to only do things we’re good at and to never try something new in the fear of failing or being exposed as ‘weak’ in some way (the idea that failing is a weakness is for an entire other letter).
Instead, what if we took a cue from these twelve little baseball players who willingly and joyfully tried new things? And, who cares if we fall down and stumble? Who cares if we swing and miss and end up on our back side? We’ll stand up, brush the dust off, learn from our mistake, and try again with the support of our teammates. The Psalmist tells us that God desires a ‘willing spirit’ (Psalm 51:12) and not a begrudging spirit. In other words, God wants us to desire Him willingly, not as if we’ve been guilt-tripped into serving in His Kingdom.
This is all to say, it’s OK if you’ve never had the opportunity or expectation to speak publicly, you can still try to read scripture on a Sunday morning. It’s OK if you’ve never taught a bible study, but you can learn and try to lead a discussion with a small group. And it’s OK if you don’t feel gifted to lead worship, but you can still try to praise God with a joyful noise among the saints in the sanctuary. For a number of reasons we have convinced ourselves to ‘stay in our lane’ and only do what we are gifted in, but God desires our willingness to try, to risk failure, and to trust the working of the Holy Spirit in the process of our vulnerability.
Grace & Peace,
