Are We Immune to Blessing? - Crosswalk the Devotional - November 10

Truths observed at the intersection of faith and life by Crosswalk.com editors [Crosswalk.com Logo]( Crosswalk: The Devotional [Devotionals]( [Newsletters]( [e-Cards]( [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( Are We Immune to Blessing? By Shawn McEvoy Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. - [Matthew 5:3]( Our company has a set of really great tickets to the local minor league baseball team, just three rows behind the home dugout. This past summer, I got to use them to take my son to his first game. My wife and I took Jordan and his pal Victor, watched them gorge on hot dogs and sno-cones while dancing hilariously to every song blared over the loudspeaker, and had a grand ol' time. Making the experience even richer was that the boys, who brought their baseball gloves, got not one... not two... but THREE baseballs that night! One was given by an older gentleman who had snagged a foul ball during batting practice. Another we caught ourselves. The third came when one of the fielders who had caught it as the final out of an inning tossed it into the crowd on his way back to the dugout. Of course, the moment that made me the most proud was when the boys, already with one ball each, decided that it would be nice to give the third one to a kid who hadn't gotten a ball yet. It was hard not to get a little misty watching my son seek out a younger boy of a different race and ask if he'd like to have a ball. I just love baseball. Then came game two. The next time we got to use the tickets, we took Jordan and his little sister. Again it was an idyllic evening, but this time... no foul balls. My son was hard to console on the walk to the parking lot. The little guy had no framework to understand what I was telling him: that of all the games I have been to in my life, I have never come away with a ball, outside of our last trip to the park. Most fans don't. The reason we bring our gloves just boils down to [faith]( hope. But he still couldn't get it. How could we have gotten so many balls last time, but none this time? What did we do wrong? Game three came a few nights later. It was the sixth inning, and still no baseballs. Jordan was losing hope, getting a little grumpy. He looked up at me and said, "I've decided that if we don't get a ball I'm not going to be happy. If we do get a ball, I'm going to be happy." Well... My 'teachable moment' alarm went off, but as usually happens, so did my 'not just for Jordan' alarm. I had a second to carefully consider what to say and use as an example. I put my hand on his little Red Sox cap and bent down to whisper to him. "That's pretty wise what you said, son, and you might not even realize it. It IS your decision. Since that's true, if you wanted to, you could make a different decision. You might decide to be happy anyway, just because you're here with me, and not in bed yet, and watching a great game on a beautiful night, and hoping like crazy for a shot at a ball. That way, whether we get one or not, we still win, because we're still happy." [CONTINUE READING →]( [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( You May Also Like: [4 Battle Cry Scriptures to Memorize in Seasons of Depression]( Melissa Fuller No matter the circumstances surrounding me, God’s Word is constant, offering hope and encouragement each day. There are four passages I always turn to in seasons of depression. [CONTINUE READING →]( [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( [The 2 Marks of a Truly Wicked Person]( James Johnston Psalm 10 may have been written long ago, but the marks of true wickedness haven’t changed a bit. [CONTINUE READING →]( [Crosswalk.com Logo]( [Read about Salem Web Network]( | [Unsubscribe From This Email]( [Email Preference Center]( | [View in Browser]( © 2020 Salem Web Network. All rights reserved. 111 Virginia Street, Suite 500, Richmond, VA 23219. This email is never sent unsolicited. You are receiving this email because your email address, {EMAIL}, is signed up to receive newsletters, updates, and special offers from Crosswalk.com - The Devotional. [Link](