Last month I read Max Lucado’s new book. He says something that I have been chewing on for the last few weeks, still trying to process. He writes,
“In the game of life, many of us who cross home plate do so because we were born on third base. Others aren’t even on a team.”
My first question was, “what does he define as crossing home plate?”
Maybe it’s having a good education.
Perhaps it’s a successful career.
Or maybe it’s as simple as having good health.
Then again, maybe he was speaking about the spiritual…
What if it is surrendering your life to Jesus?
Perhaps it’s leading your family in Spirit.
Or maybe it’s simply hearing the Gospel at all.
But that raises the question, to steal a quote from Rob Bell: what if the missionary gets a flat tire? That is to say, what if you have never once heard the name of Jesus? What if there was no church within 50 miles of where you live, and you never leave that village? What if no one ever makes it into your neck of the woods to tell you the Truth?
I think “crossing home plate” is all of those things; a lifeline culmination of earthly and spiritual successes.
And that’s when it hit me…
I was born three feet from home plate.
He goes on to say,
“Some people are poor because they are lazy. They need to get off their duffs. Others, however, are poor because parasites weaken their bodies, because they spend six hours a day collecting water, because rebel armies ravaged their farms, or because AIDS took their parents.”
If I had read that sentence last August, I would have said something along the lines of, “yeah yeah. Most people are just lazy or drug addicts or alcoholics.”
Then God introduced me to this thing called the WORLD… the real world.
I want to introduce you to some of my friends I’ve met along the way; some you’ll recognize from earlier posts:
ArnoldKigali, Rwanda
Arnold now lives with his grandmother, after losing both parents to AIDS. Arnold was our translator during our stay in January.
Damage
Kabuga, Rwanda
Damage was orphaned at age 15, after the national genocide claimed both of his parents. They were killed by rebel armies, part of which were his own uncles.
Imelde
Manila, Philippines
Imelde and her husband are now living in a refugee camp with 3,000 other victims, after a typhoon destroyed her home, her crops, and everything she owned. She now lives with her husband and daughter on the mud floor of her shop, which is a 5×5 tent.
PeterKitale, Kenya
Peter is 19 years old. I met him while giving out food in his slum. His parents were murdered by thieves who stole his father’s cattle and land. He lives, with his 16-year old brother, in the hut he made out of trash. His dream is to be a painter.
NelleyKitale, Kenya
I met Nelley while touring her orphanage/school. She followed me all day, hand-in-hand, and showed me her bunk, her desk, where she ate her meals, and all of her friends. I later learned that she has been orphaned by AIDS, which has also been transmitted to her. She is 11.
LakshmiRural Village, India
Lakshmi is one of the hundreds of women we met in Southern India who not only pump water from distant wells daily, but also shuck thousands of ears of corn by hand. The ears of corn are her most substantial form of income, wielding under $10 per week. Nearly every woman we met bore the same name. Ironic, it means goddess of wealth…or maybe she understands a different kind of wealth than I do.
Lucado ends the chapter by saying,
“No one can do everything, but everyone can do something.”
Abba, let me not settle with lukewarm. I realize I have been given the opportunity to not just live comfortably, but to live in relationship with you, and for that, I lift my hands to you in surrender. Teach me how to play my part. Show me how to cross home plate the way you desire, with brothers and sisters on each side of me. Continue to open my eyes to your beautiful children. Amen
