I really didn’t know any different.
I was 7 years old. And really had just fallen in love with baseball and the Chicago Cubs. I could have named the starting lineup with position on the field and in the lineup.
I remember laying in the hallway on Sunday afternoons watching the WGN broadcast instead of napping. I can still hear the fumbling, mumbling singing of Harry Carey of “Jody – Jody Davis”.
I thought it was always supposed to be this way. No one had told me about 1908 or 1945 or 1969 or anything about a Billie Goat. What I learned on October 6th, 1984 was a lesson in history and heartbreak.
The Cubs were up in the series 2 games to 1. Game tied in the 9th at 5-5. The most domiant closer in the game Lee Smith was pitching. Shut the door, lights out, score a run and let’s go to the World Series.
And there over the 370 sign in right field in the 9th inning at Jack Murphy Stadium I learned my first lesson in heartbreak. His name was Steve Garvey.
Heartbreak happens.
At 7 years old heartbreak heals fast. Or so I thought. But at 39 and the Cubs as good as they have been in 100 years, I still hate Steve Garvey.
A text from my dad the other night reveals everything you need to know about this type of heartbreak. After the Cubs looked sharp in Game 1 of 2016 Divisional Series against the Dodgers he simply said “there is a lot of series left”.
Deep heartbreak has a way of building guard walls that allow a sense of anticipation with a large dose of reservations. Once a heart is broken it is hard to trust that it won’t happen again. Case in point the Steve Bartman game of 2003.
Heart break extends past the baseball diamond that sits on the corner of Waveland and Sheffield. Heartbreak hits at home field on every corner of every town. Heartbreak happens.
But heartbreak should never prevent us from believing in the impossible. I am not putting the divine on the baseball diamond, but being a Cubs fan does require a great dose of faith. It requires the belief that what I have never seen with my eyes is possible — a World Series. In much the same way that is faith in God. It is trusting in an unseen God to do the things I have never seen before. It is trusting though my heart has been broken before it won’t keep getting broken.
While I still may need counseling over 1984, I am die-hard that this is next year. And while my heart outside of the Northside ball club has been broken even more in life, my God has shown himself able to be more faithful than Ardolis Chapman fastball.
The psalmist wrote: The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Psalm 34:18
While 2016 may result in more baseball heartbreak, I have a God that is near. And belief that he still does the impossible.
If Steve Garvey ever reads this, I forgive you.
#justbeingjeff
Despite their best efforts Cubs win 2016 World Series. I now have peace.
Life is Messy
Jeff speaking at Thrive Church in Lexington, KY.
Chasing Rainbows & Unicorns
I’m gonna say this once. ‘Gonna say it simple. And I hope to God for your sakes you all listen. There are no Abominable Snowmen. There are so Sasquatches. There are no Big Feet!
Harry and the Hendersons
As the father of five gen Z’s, I feel I have God given role in the lives of my children that only I can fulfill. This responsibility I take with great seriousness. Only I can lay the proper foundation of great cinematic disciplines. In short, I force them to watch classic 80’s films.
This exclusive list of life lessons has included a search for One Eyed Willie’s treasure, time traveling in a DeLorian, and most critically how to take the most perfect day off of school. Anyone, anyone, anyone?
To my surprise, the film of the decade that captured the attention and hearts of my squad was Harry and the Hendersons. It is part science-fiction, part physical comedy as a Sasquatch takes up residency with a suburban family. It is the heart felt tale of Big Foot and an all American family finding common ground and acceptance of each other’s differences. It did so well they spun a failed sit-com from it.
This critical piece of cinematography led the young minds of mine to the deep conversation of “is Big Foot real?”
I will take my stance by quoting the movie:
I’m gonna say this once. ‘Gonna say it simple. And I hope to God for your sakes you all listen. There are no Abominable Snowmen. There are so Sasquatches. There are no Big Feet!
For that matter, there are no Unicorns, leprechauns, talking cereal rabbits or Loch Ness Monster. Somewhere we got sold a bag of myth like the undiscovered pot gold at the end of every rainbow. I have searched, there is no gold. Yet it seems as if a huge chunk of our life is spent chasing the unicorn.
I know some dude is sitting there chest hair protruding from a deep v-neck t-shirt proclaiming you would never chase a unicorn. But you do. We all do it we just don’t know we do. We all chase unicorns.
Have you ever seen a unicorn? Of course not. They are mythical, magical creatures that only exist in our imagination and Rainbow Brite cartoons. Sure you can buy one on a felt neon color poster that glows in the dark with a black light hanging in your college dorm room but it doesn’t mean it really exists. Some people spend their entire life chasing the mythical single horned white horse.
By now you think i have lost my mind, but let me explain. The unicorn of your life is what you chase that you will never catch (because it doesn’t really exist). It is the fantasy you create in your mind that has little to do with the reality of your life. Unicorns are fun when you are a kid. They capture our attentions and imaginations. They seem like something we want to be or become. But it is never who we really we are.
For 14 years we have watched unicorn chasing on television. We called it American Idol. Scattered in between the 8 or 10 legitimate singers were hundreds of people whose mama had lied to them. They showed up waiting for hours, standing in lines around other sweaty unicorn chasers believing they could become a star. You and I, admittedly laughed at these atrocities of musical mess. Yet, in the mind of every contestant, they believed their destiny was the bright lights of the stage.
No, no it wasn’t. They had zero business being in line, let alone in front of the judges.
While most of us had not made of mockery of our family name in front of millions of viewers, we are all just as guilty. Your unicorn is the relationship you chased that you had zero business being in but kept believing it was “meant to be”.
You chased the magical myth of a job or career you had to have to create the status you needed to keep up with. Now you are just trying to keep up the facade that everything is okay.
Your unicorn may have been the belief that the infidelity of your spouse would eventually end and you would eventually get the white picket fence front porch family of your dreams.
They are all unicorns. Every one is a greener pasture on bigger mountain with better sheep feeding on the green, green grass.
I have spent most of my adult life chasing unicorns. I have chased mythical beliefs of a life that would never really happen. I have created goals and dreams that were not mine to chase. It left me hurting, helpless and striving for all the wrong things in life. I was chasing after things that I would never catch because they were never mine to chase to begin with.
So I started chasing rainbows.
Now I know you think I have really lost my mind. But hang with me. In the book of Genesis, God made a promise to Noah that he would never flood the earth again. As a guarantee of that promise he gave Noah a sign, a rainbow.
The rainbow is a symbol of God’s promise. So instead of chasing the myths of my life, I started chasing the promises of God. I don’t think my story is that unique. I think most of us have spent more time chasing the wrongs things instead of pursuing the promises of God.
When we pursue promises instead of myths we find that our life fits perfectly into the plan God had for us. Now don’t get me wrong, it is not always a picturesque sunset with ROYGBIV bouncing off a cloudless sky. But what we do find is our place. We find our purpose. We find our fit. We find peace. We find joy. We find that what we do is important and significant. We find that places and people that God has had for us all along.
What I have learned in my adventures in the lush land of life is that when I pursue the promises, instead of chasing the myths I find myself perfectly in the place of where I am supposed to be. I find myself content with me. I find joy in my journey. I find that capacity to authentic. I find that chasing rainbows is better than chasing unicorns.
So quit chasing unicorns. Start chasing rainbows.
The Same
By Your spirit I will rise
From the ashes of defeat
The resurrected king
Is resurrecting me
Resurrecting, Elevation Worship
I have a heritage of ministry in my background. The man I call Gramps spent most of his adult life bi-vocationally working and building churches, both spiritually and physically. He was a spit-fire, short man of about 5 foot 5 inches at best, but preached hard like a man of great stature. It was all hell-fire and brimstone preaching most days. It was a consummate petition to the people to commit to God.
God gave me a gift that I will never forget. I spent one year in a little Midwest corn-field town, with a little white church building that my grandfather built with his own two hands. After a year in the role of associate pastor, God moved again and moved me with him.
Not much of that single year was all that impactful, other than that final Sunday in that little small town church that meant so much to me.
As a parting staff member, I got to say parting words from the pulpit. More than likely not particularly memorable to anyone else. And in truth, not sure the message was all that memorable to me. But moments before I shared the message God had given me for this small group of faithful followers, the Pastor asks that same small powerful man of God, who built that church, to pray from the pew where he sat to support his grandson.
Like a hot knife on butter were the gentle words of this powerful preacher as they spilled from his mouth. In that moment a grandson was made a son. He was proud that roles had reversed. He was elated that what he was leaving behind was being picked up by me.
In a simple prayer, the blessing of power and anointing was passed from one generation to younger generation. It was a real life moment of Elijah passing the mantle to Elisha. My spirit and heart melted as the soft prayer of such a powerful man and the ministry mantle of Gramps was officially passed to me. Years before he would take me to his study, stretch wide his hand over a collection of books like it was the promised land and say “Jeff, one day all this would be yours.” While, I eventually got the books, what I received that day was by far more significant than any collection.
What was apparent was that the same power that 50 plus years earlier was imparted into my grandfather, God had imparted into me.
Paul wrote these words to the church at Rome:
The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.
Take moment and re-read those words. Now pause and think on them.
The very same Spirit that had the power to resurrect a dead Jesus back to life lives in you and me. It is the passing of the baton to us. God the father has spoken sweet and soft over us with his blessing of the Holy Spirit.
The struggle is most of us never live out the power we have. It wasn’t necessarily that moment in Small Town, USA that empowered my ministry. While I feel it was a significant day in my life. That same power had always been there. The prayer simply served as a lighting of the fuse of potential that existed.
We have access to a someone in the Spirit of God that has resurrecting potential. Power to resurrect your life, your career, your ministry, your family. That same power is living and active and accessible in me and you! So take hold allow God to bring back to life what was dead. Allow the Spirit to breathe on dry and dead bones.
Maybe today is your resurrection day! Maybe today is the day you realize that the same power that raised Jesus is available for you.
