Team Sublett headed to Altoona for part 2 of Pap’s birthday tonight. He’s just about the biggest Pirate baseball fan alive, so the most of the fam accompanied him to the Double A minor league affiliate Altoona Curve game. Because of our work with the State College Spikes over the past few years (I’m their chaplain) we know a few of the players who are at Altoona. It was fun to watch Brock Holt, Miles Durham, and a few others playing tonight.
The only trouble was the score. Trenton (first place) was pounding Altoona (last place) all night long. For most of the game it was 6-1 in favor of the visiting team. We made the most of it by medicating our wounds with food, and the box seats from M&T Bank of Bedford were nice! But something magical happened in the bottom of the ninth.
It was as though the guys on the Altoona team decided that they’d had enough. They lost 2 to the same Trenton team Wednesday, and had trailed all day. But in their last at bat there was a shift in momentum, and things began to happen. A few hits, a few walks, an error, a few more hits…when the dust settled Trenton had changed pitchers twice while Altoona scored 6 runs to steal a victory. Brock Holt slid across the plate with the winning run (courtesy of Jarek Cunningham’s double!) and led a pack of his teammates to mob Cunningham out at second base.
Our family was going nuts in the M&T box! We were on our feel the entire inning, making noise, cheering for the Curve like they were our own family, believing that they could do the impossible.
And tonight…they did.
It’s always too early to quit. Sure, it might look bleak. You may have run into a mountain of obstacles. Maybe you haven’t done a thing right all day. You might be in the slump of a lifetime.
Maybe your kids have made some stupid choices.
She left you.
You cheated.
Again.
Your boss is a jerk…and you’re self-employed.
Too much month, not enough money.
He doesn’t return your texts.
You gave in to the thing you said you were done with.
Spiritual life stuck on zero.
You tried to make some friends and it flopped.
You wish you had a dead-end job to complain about.
Never, never, never give up. It’s always too early to quit. As long as you have a breath, as long as there is today, as long as you’re above ground with a pulse…keep fighting. You might just surprise yourself.
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