Thoughts on Empty Ballparks and Masked Church

Baseball is back and, although I’m a big fan, I really wasn’t too excited when the season finally started. Most disappointing was the fact that there would be no fans. But I gave it a chance, and after a while I found myself enjoying the games, fans or no fans. It’s not like I prefer empty stadiums, but it’s really not that bad. With or without fans, it’s still baseball.

It’s been about a month now that we’ve been attending church with masks, and at first it was a real downer! However, this Sunday I left church feeling like I had actually been to church. It felt good. It felt almost normal. It’s not like I’ll be campaigning for masks when all this passes, but it’s gotten to the point where it’s not so bad! With or without masks, it’s still worship.
I guess I had to ask myself these questions:

• “How much do I love baseball?”

• “Is my love for baseball greater than my dislike of empty stadiums?”

• “How much do I love worship?”

• “Is my love for worship greater than my distaste of masks?”

I’ve decided I love baseball more than I dislike empty stadiums.

I’ve decided I love worship more than I dislike masks.

So, I’m watching and attending.

(Note: I know many people who would love to be at in-person church but are at high risk and need to stay home. Continued prayers for the pandemic to pass so we can all safely be together.)

My life: Crazier than it has to be

Last Friday was a crazy day. But I made it crazier than it had to be.

High winds blew through Texoma the night before leaving hundreds without power including the church building – well, sort of. One of our assistants called me when she got in the office and said the lights were out, which didn’t surprise me. But what did surprise me was what I discovered when I got to the office. Not all of the lights were off. About 1/3 were off.

What made me go into a tizzy was that we had a group coming up to view an online seminar and the room they were to meet in was one of the rooms affected. We were told by our electric company that they were working on the issue, but we all know that could be forever! So, I started buzzing around the building (I got my steps in by 10 am that day) with cables, computers, and extension cords preparing a room for the seminar. The phones were out, so I rigged more extension cords to get those working. One of our modems was out, so I hustled to try to connect them.  I was tired and frustrated.

Just about the time I got everything working, all the lights came on! I should have been grateful, but I was mad that I had gone through all that work and expended all that emotional energy for nothing! Then it dawned on me. If I had only waited and trusted in someone who could fix it all I would have saved myself so much worry and stress.

If I only waited on someone who could fix it all …

The Good Book tells us more than once to wait on God, and Friday morning that all made sense. How many problems have I tried to fix, how much physical and emotional energy have I spent, how much worry and stress have I needlessly borne because I just didn’t wait on the one who could fix it all.

We wait in hope for the LORD; he is our help and our shield. - Psalm 33:20 (NIV)