Where have you been?
Where are you right now?
Where are you going?
This baseball...
was in the back of a customer's pickup truck, under some big rocks.
While I loaded what he purchased, I asked, "Do you know where I can get any rocks?" He said, "You can have the rocks! And the baseball!"
He saw me smiling as I picked up the ball. He still has the rocks. I flipped the ball up in the air as we talked, and I said, "When I was your age, I could put one of these pretty much where I wanted to."
Walking back inside, I thought about my good fortune. The ball fit well in my hand. It turned over and over as my thumb followed the direction of the stitches.
I wonder...
Where have you been?
This ball had a life prior to today.
The markings are readable:
"Rawlings FSR1NCAA"
On the other side, the logo, "SSA."
A google search later:
"FSR1NCAA" is a Flat seam, college tournament grade baseball, sold by the dozens, for use a college game or college tournament.
FSR!NCAA baseball for more details.
The "SSA" logo stands for Southern Athletic Association.
The University of the South at Sewanee is part of the Southern Athletic Association, and is thirty minutes from here.
Maybe it was used in a game at Sewanee.
Was it a home run by a guy that already had twenty? Landing just beyond the eyes and reach of the kids that go out and find them.
Might have been a foul ball by a kid that finally got into his first college game? Then did he strike out on the next pitch? Or did he make contact for a RBI game winner?
Maybe it was used to warm up a pitcher before the game. Then, got by the catcher, only to be discarded by the home plate Umpire?
Maybe it somehow fell from the box, and never made it in the stadium. Maybe local kids from the neighborhood found it and played in their front yard, touching Maple trees for bases, and a stepping on a shingle they found, for home plate.
Maybe one of those kids made the swing of a lifetime, and hit the ball beyond the yard, over the road, into tall grass, for a home run. When they couldn't find it, the farmer picked it up, days later, along with some rocks, to clear the field for spring planting.
One thing I do know...
Where are you right now?
The ball rests on my desk. We passed it around. Guys held it like they had one more curve or fastball ball to throw. We shared smiles, stories, and memories, as we handed it back and forth.
What if I hadn't made a joke about those rocks? If the baseball stayed in the back of that truck, it likely would have ended up in a ditch, never to be found.
My "Right Now" feeling is nostalgia, and peaceful joy. It makes me smile just seeing that ball here. I can't explain that feeling to a person that didn't grow up with the game.
Something I'm thinking about now...
Where are you going?
This ball has potential. Maybe not for a college tournament game. But potential.
I'm not going to plan it out. But at some point in the next few days, I will give this ball away.
To a kid that might play a game of catch with his friends in the front yard.
To a parent of one of my buddies that I played baseball with years ago.
To a coach from years gone by because baseball is something we both loved.
Maybe to a stranger that just needs someone to be kind to them.
There are life questions that parallel todays find...
Where have you been?
Where are you now?
Where are you going?
Some things we can control. But we can't change where we have been.
God forgives us when we ask for forgiveness.
What does Forever look like to you?
We have a loving Father in Heaven that wants us on his Forever Team.
And once you are on God's team, you can stop worrying about ever being lost again.
Today's baseball reminds me, that the saving grace only available through Jesus, is best shared, and given to others.