Pure Joy

Working part time in a baseball facility has given me a unique vantage point in viewing young athletes. I see all kinds of people come in, young kids with parents, older kids training in the winter, and men well past their primes in hitting leagues. One thing I’ve found jarring is that a good many people seem angry, upset, or distressed. I used to take baseball very seriously; I zeroed in on myself as an athlete and strove to be the best at all costs. The thing is this; it took all the fun out of the game. Instead of relishing the fact that I was playing a great sport among friends during the best season of the year all I could think about was how I looked and how high my average was… Now this sport isn’t just about baseball, it’s about joy. Joy is much more than happiness, joy, I believe, is something we experience when we come close to God. Happiness depends on circumstance but joy can be attained at any time. So what does this have to do with baseball? Well I didn’t used to get joy out of playing baseball, in fact my endless practicing often ended in anger. Now as I face my last chance to make the varsity team I find myself with a feeling of peace. I’ve come to realize that in the end it is just a game and there are far more important things in my life, like family, God, and blogging. Joy comes from nearness to God, it doesn’t have to happen in a church pew although it very often does, but in doing an activity we love and doing it in praise of God we can have joy. Another example from baseball is blogging. I’ve often thought to myself, why do I write on this blog so often? I have tons of work to do each week, and more academic (if it can be called that) is just not what I would immediately want. Yet I blog because it gives me joy, because by writing I feel closer to God and am lifted up much higher than mere happiness could provide. So what am I saying? Do things, not just because you love them (for you could love them for many reasons) do them because they give you joy, because in doing them you do not finish in anger but happiness.