Sliding into Home or Quitting at Third

The Senior Adult years are like rounding third base and heading for home plate. That reminds me of my last organized game – a church-league softball game. I was on second base when our batter hit a line drive between the outfielders. As I approached third base, the youthful coach waved me toward home. My youthful forty-something body said go. My more mature forty-something mind said stop. I stopped at full speed. The popping sound heard all the way to the bleachers was my hamstring. It was over! My last game! I quit! Back to senior adulthood. I’ve rounded third base, with multiple reasons to stop (listing them here would only be depressing for a Monday), but I’ve chosen to “press toward the goal,” (Philippians 3:14) in this case intending to slide safely in to home when I’ve “finished the race” (2 Timothy 4:7) – at no time soon, I hope! Actually it matters little where you are on the base paths of life. You can quit, or you can keep going. Join me at home plate someday with a well-done, and a hallelujah high-five.

Join me this week in remembering the following global concerns:
• Pray for student interns and summer missionaries who finish their summer assignments this week.
• Pray for “The Greatest Journey” kids’ camp being conducted in a park in southeast Calgary, Canada, July 27¬-30.
• Give thanks for over 500 people in 10 different cities and towns in the Kharkov region of Ukraine, who experienced the love of Jesus through the hands of a volunteer medical team in July.