What's Important? I hope you didn't say baseball.

There I said it. Now don't get me wrong I still Love Baseball and always will and yes I'm not going anywhere because I love what I do. I just think sometimes we need to step out of our comfort zone and look at the BIG picture. I can talk baseball 24/7 and most of the time I do. Talking to coaches getting feedback and addressing issues that come up every weekend. I love it, I absolutely love it. The satisfaction that I get week in and week out watching these young talented athletes play ball is a rush, it consumes me and I look forward to it every week. With that being said something happened to me last week at the ball park during a 13/14u tournament. One of my coaches asked me if I would like to join him and his team for a Devotional. I'll admit, it kinda caught me off guard and after a bit of stuttered speech I said yes

absolutely as if I do it every week. While the coach pulled out his sheet that had everything on it that he wanted to discuss I noticed every player, parent and coach that was sitting there was fully attentive to the head coach as he started the devotional. He started talking about team and how important it is to pick up your teammates when they are down and how not to get on them no matter how bad things may be going, all good stuff but things I have heard before. But then he said something that hit me square between the eyes. "Look at the person next you and tell them that you have there back not just on the field but in life." WOW!!! Simple words that normally I would have just let in one ear and out the other but it stuck and made me realize life is 24/7 and it's all encompassing, when you're having a bad day and all you think about is whoa is me not paying attention to what's going on around you or with the people that are close to you. Step back, and take time to have someone's back. I know I haven't done it, I've been selfish and haven't thought about what other people may be going through. I haven't had anybody's back in a long time especially the people that I care about the most. Baseball is such a great teacher of life and we all can correlate the lessons that baseball teaches us with the life skills that we acquire as we grow older but how do we flip the script and show compassion for people that we may never give the time of day to? Why do some people run from adversity and why do others create it? I don't know the answer and not sure I truly want too. One thing I do know is that I am more cognizant of what people may be going through and how a kind gesture or a simple "I hope you're having a good day" can go a long way to help someone get through a day that may not be going that well. Just like the Tim Mcgraw Song "Humble and Kind", I feel that everybody deserves that "I got your back" attention when life grabs you chews you up and spits you out. Be that person that's there to pick up that person that may not have had the teammate growing up that had there back. Rant over!!!! #baseballhasmyback.