I just watched A League of Their Own. It’s one that I’ve seen a zillion times & every single time I ball from beginning to end. If you haven’t seen it, you should.
When I was little watching this movie I thought that Dottie regretted not staying in the league longer, not living her dreams to the fullest. Now, I see it differently. Maybe a part of her wishes she had stayed another season but not for the fame or accolades of fans. She says in the movie that what she will miss are the girls in the league and her sister, but not the travelling or getting run into every other day (she was the catcher); you know all the baseball stuff. So when she is getting ready to leave for the induction weekend what she is fearful of is that those relationships she loved so much will not have meant the same to everyone else. And isn’t that something we all fear? Don’t we all want to be remembered?
Then, there is Kit, the one who had bigger dreams than the small town life her sister wanted. I don’t know if Kit wanted the fame, or just wanted to be out from under her sister’s shadow. Dottie had a husband, was a great baseball player, wasn’t as hot headed as Kit, was smart, etc. In their small town Dottie was perfect and Kit didn’t shine as bright.
So this is where I struggle watching this movie. Like Dottie I want to be remembered. Like Kit I struggle to be my own person, to live fully in who God created me to be. Sometimes, especially after watching A League of Their Own, I wonder if I will be remembered. I doubt anyone a hundred years from now will know my name. I doubt that I will be famous in the public eye or viewed as reverently as Mother Teresa, Billy Graham, or one of the apostles. But I know I am chosen. My Papa God knows my name. “You created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.” (Psalms 139:13, NIV) I could not ask for a better gift than to be chosen by the maker of heaven and earth.
More and more God is teaching me to be content, to know I have been chosen, to trust that His plan for me is better than I can dream. So far, I have to say He’s right. The World Race is not what I had planned for. My expectations were: go to college, get a degree, figure out a career, meet a Jesus loving guy, get married, have kids, keep living. Well the first two things have happened. But nothing else has gone as planned. And while, in the past, I have shed many tears agonizing over how my plan would work out, I see that God used every circumstance in my life to bring me to a place of surrender.
So, this time around watching A League of Their Own really gave me a new perspective. It used to make me cry about what I had possibly missed out on. I always felt so sad for Dottie missing out on her dreams. But really, she lived her dreams of having a family. Now I don’t feel sad for her or cry because I fear I won’t be remembered. I do still cry because it is an emotional movie and I’m kind of empathetic. I can only imagine the new friendships that will be formed on this Race. I imagine looking back on life in awe of the wonderful experiences and people God blessed me with. I can’t wait for the World Race to see how God uses and stretches us, just over six months till we launch!
Please keep me in your prayers, I still have a good amount to raise. My personal goal is to be fully funded before leaving in August. At times I’ll get a little anxious about how much is left, but then I look at my December total and am reminded how good God is!
Stay warm!
~Bethany~
