WARNING: I’m able to reference an old baseball movie so I apologize to those who are missing baseball and those who didn’t see this movie. I included a clip of the referenced scene below if you want to check it out.
In the 1993 classic baseball movie, Rookie of the Year, a seasoned pitcher is charged with giving a pep talk to a kid who’s playing for the Chicago Cubs after an arm injury healed in a way that let him throw 103 mph fastballs.
Fumbling for what to say, the seasoned pitcher tells the kid to “Deal from your Have To,” saying, “The Have To‘s what you use when you’re afraid.”
It’s a very minor moment in a movie from almost twenty years ago, and yet it came to mind the other day as I heard another story of resiliency and adaptability that’s emerged because of this pandemic—mainly your willingness to engage and use new technology to connect. Reflecting on my own crash course in learning how to put videos together I realized I was operating out of my ‘Have To.’
It’s a common to marvel at how little kids are so adept at using technology—that they take to technology like a duck takes to water, but the truth is none of us are born inherently knowing how to operate a smartphone. What all kids are born with, is a sense of curiosity AND a lack of fear. They get good at technology because they’re not afraid to just start pushing buttons and see how things work. Kids are fearless and hardwired to learn. As we get older, we learn how to fear.
But in times of great need, we’re able to overcome our fear of the unknown to try new things and do old things in new ways. When the need is greater than our fear, we can surprise ourselves with what we’re capable of.
I’m grateful for your willingness to harness your ‘Have To.’ You bring me joy. As we move forward and figure out how to live and worship in the new reality that’s unfolding, I give thanks that we’re in this together—that we’re rooted in love and committed to caring for one another in good times and bad, in sickness and health. I pray God strengthens your ‘Have To’ as we figure this other together.
Much Love,
Pastor Annette