And the Winner Is...

In the blog post “It’s Not Over Until It’s Over,” I explained the journey of my son Raymond’s little league baseball team, the Yankees, to the 2019 Majors Division Championship Game. As promised, I’m back to report on the championship game result.

Pregame
On game day, the family and I woke up with great expectations for the Yankees! After a hearty pancake breakfast at Raymond’s request, we got ready and headed to the field. Prior to getting out of our truck, Raymond led us in prayer. He asked God to help him and his team perform their best. My husband, Ray, and I discussed with Raymond whatever the result, accept God’s will. He said he would.

I watched from the bleachers as each team warmed up. Both were looking in top form. I felt confident for the Yankees, yet knew the capability of the Dodgers. It would be a battle. After what felt like an extremely long hour of warm ups, it was finally game time!

The Game
The game was closely-matched and hard-fought. The Dodgers were on the board first with runs. The Yankees were able to rally back and take the lead. There were a few calls by the umpires that were questionable and did not work towards the Yankees’ advantage. This led to more runs by the Dodgers, securing their victory. The Yankees lost the championship game to the Dodgers in a score of 5 to 4.

History repeated itself from the prior season. It was disappointing. The Yankees had worked very hard to get to this game for a rematch and, of course, they wanted to win, but did not.

Post Game
I will share with you what I shared with Raymond as I looked at his sorrowful face after the game. Although the game did not end the way he would have liked it, he was still walking away a winner.
• His team was the 2019 Majors Division League Champion for the regular season.
• His team made it to the championship game and was the Playoff Runner Up.
He literally had his hands full of trophies!

More importantly:
• He was blessed with health and skill to even play baseball.
• He and his team played well.
• He had friends and family who love him there cheering him on for the game and who will continue to be there for him in life!

We Are All Winners
I encourage us (you and me) to examine all that we have accomplished! In the midst of our attempt to obtain the “big win,” what has already been achieved can get overlooked. We are often most disappointed when a situation does not produce the result we expect because we think we deserve a particular outcome. This is where prayer and reliance on God come into play. If we have asked God for what we desire and let Him lead the way, we know the outcome is exactly what it is supposed to be at any given time. The good news is God is working everything for our good! So, we cannot let disappointments stop us from aspiring for great things! Realize that great expectations set the bar high. But, we can expect great things because we have a great God! Sometimes we will reach the bar and sometimes it will be a benchmark for us to strive for. Nonetheless, we need to take the time to appreciate what is gained along the way! We already know our story ends in our victory!!!

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