Keep your eye on the ball! If I had a dollar for every time I've heard that, I'd go take a real fancy cruise somewhere. Any sport requires focus -- I played softball from infanthood (it seemed) to high school, then basketball up into my college years. It was all about the ball. Hit it. Catch it. Throw it. Shoot it. My very stance was drilled and trained in how to anticipate these activities. We ran, lifted and sweated to prepare to play with various orbs, be it a small or a large one. Off seasons were full of running and weights. Heaven forbid we show up to fall training out of shape. As an athlete, your whole world revolves in some way or another around that ball. I think it is fantastic practice for life, if you can get it. You have to learn to corral and hone your skills, get along with other people, discipline and show up for practice and games, learn submission to authority, teamwork, and especially, push yourself beyond what you think you are capable of. Sports in this country have been elevated to a god state, and that's not good. They can be a great tool, lots of entertainment and also a boatload of fun. When they become a form of worship, we're heading in the wrong direction, but I'm not really thinking of the problems with sports. I'm thinking of keeping my eye on the ball. As a mature adult, far, far away from that svelte gazelle of years ago, the same principles apply to so many areas of life. After several fully-realized career paths, I am now a real estate agent. I don't know if I would be doing this if I didn't get paid, in fact, I'm certain I would not. It's a vastly different season in my life to be this focused on one aspect of it. But I have to be, if it's going to work. Keeping my eye on the ball, however, is not about money. If it were only about that, I would miss the jewels that are under the dirt.
I do a lot of Estate work, with widows, orphans and Executors that need my help disposing of a house. They are usually heavily grieved, sometimes angry, sometimes feeling helpless. It can be the worst place in the world to be, with so many decisions forced on the family or loved ones. Time and situation make this one of those places no one really wants to be. There's often three houses worth of stuff in the one domicile -- Aunt Julie's crochet work, Grandma Jones' whole house of furniture jammed in the garage and Uncle Louie's old typewriter. They're dusty, out of date and don't work, but somebody has to deal with them. This can take quite some time, as relatives battle it out for the valuables, root out cousin Charley who's been living in the basement for years, and get all of the things sorted (trash/valuables/give-aways). Then the house usually has to be cleaned and painted and who knows what else. In the middle of this are all the memories and sentiment that made this place someone's home. There can be strong, deep feelings connected to it. It is often very difficult to tear away from the physical presence of the house and to let it go. I'm just the realtor. Please don't shoot me.
I know that the Lord puts me here. He causes me to empathize with others and their pain. It's one of those things we all have -- gifts that we didn't practice or train for -- they're just there. I believe it's a part of the eternal fabric and purpose that God puts us here for. I know people who have the ability to be logical and do math. Praise God for that, because, well, math. I have experienced security from a nurse who perfectly placed a needle in my arm, without having to try six times. I have seen calm police and firemen who administered help in times of need without panicking. I have known the tranquil cool of a person who peacefully organized my kitchen (I think it was a kitchen before she got here, maybe not). So many gifts, callings, talents. Some we've worked at, some we haven't. But in any way that they are used in our lives, if the "ball" in our lives is about only one thing, then it's possible to lose the nobility of it. Truth, we need money to survive in this economy, and I'm very thankful for it. A lot would be great but it's not everything. I certainly work hard for it and the Bible says that the workman is worthy of his hire. As the real estate market has ratcheted up in these last two years and my business focus has shifted more to real estate and away from art/decorative painting, I have had to pull my attention to the math/organized side of my brain. That's a problem, because that side is gummed up with many years of butterfly wings and paint. I've read all about women in their fifties, how they find new parts of themselves and actually get reinvented. I am experiencing this interesting forging of paths outside of my old comfort zones.
What I am struck with is that at the heart of any endeavor, my personal focus has to be: how am I helping and blessing others? How am I glorifying God through this? What about my family? Protecting my priorities so that I don't tip over into excess, which is what I always tend to do. How to stay balanced when you're focusing is probably the hardest thing of all. Keeping my eye on the ball, but not tripping on the way to first base.
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