Is there a time you believe to be the best days of your life? When were they, and who says they are behind you? I have two special friends from my Baltimore Orioles days. ¹ When we get together, we rehash our athletic greatness and every single time someone will say, “Those days were the best!” In some ways they were indeed the best, but in other ways they were the absolute worst.

 

They were the best of days because we were able to selfishly chase our dreams, tethered by nothing and no one, except our obligations to the ball club. We were young, in shape, in demand, with our whole life before us. We had the proverbial tiger by the tail, and it was absolutely fantastic. But…such freedom came at a high cost.

 

Being at a baseball field 7 days a week for 7 months a year; long bus rides, always packing and unpacking; rarely seeing family, friends or maybe a girlfriend; a lot of cooking to stay fit and strong. Loneliness was a given, homesickness guaranteed. Often injured; often broke; always with pressure closing in on you. Yeah, some of the best days and some of the worst.

 

Living in the past is a choice not to live.

 

Now fast forward to me today…a man with obligations instead of a kid with dreams, a man with an enemy who has followed him from his youth into decade five, and a man who has learned a lot along the way, and nothing more important than this…If the enemy can convince you that your best days are behind you, he will steal the wind from your sails, the steam from your engine, the mo from your jo.

 

And yet we are blind to him. We don’t see the fading of our dreams or our belief that God rules our future and that better days are actually ahead of us. All we see is our life in a rear view mirror…a life we miss greatly and would love to revisit, while paying absolutely no mind to the worst parts of our life that accompanied those best of times, the times we do NOT miss at all. (Read that twice)

 

Why did I stop playing baseball? Because I had grown weary of it all and despised the high cost of my ticket to ride, to do as I pleased and follow my dream. That cost had become more than I was willing to pay. When I turned the page on that dream, I closed the book on some of the best days of my life, as well as some of the worst days. It’s just a matter of which days I choose to remember.

 

Today is the day the Lord has made. ²

 

Now let’s go to today. Sure, there will be things to deal with, but so far this morning…I woke up to all three of my kids at home. Everyone, including my wife, left with full lunch boxes, and our old vehicles cranked another day and got them to their destinations. There’s a fire in my fireplace as I tap away at this story on my phone. ³ Later I get to help people buy and sell houses, then help coach my son’s baseball team this afternoon. And God willing, everyone will come home this evening.

 

This day is the best of times! I will not allow the enemy to rob me of this day by causing me to cling to what lies in my past or to fear what may lay in my future. I will focus on and be thankful for this day and, the opportunity it holds to enjoy the life God has given me, while pursuing the work He has given me to do while I am here.

 

Yesterday is gone and an unguaranteed tomorrow will have enough trouble of it’s own. ⁴ Focus on Today.

 

Get In The Boat. Do Your Part. The Best Day Is Today!

 

From Nose to Toes!

 

Shane/#16

  

Shane Hale is a redeemed & re-purposed professional baseball player and former corporate sales executive. Shane, his wife Michelle, and their three sons live in Mobile, Alabama, USA, where he works as a Realtor. While seeking God’s plan for his life in the summer of 2014, God told Shane to start writing. Today he shares his faith to encourage and inspire others to seek His plan for their lives as well. Check out his blog at http://www.the1sixproject.com.

 

Footnotes: (1) For seven years Shane was a professional baseball player in the Baltimore Orioles organization. (2) Read Psalms 118:24. (3) The original version of this work first appeared on Januay18, 2024, which is winter in the USA, explaining why Shane would have a fire in the fireplace. (4) Read Matthew 6:34.

 

Pictures: The Day The Lord Has Made…Psalms 118:24, image created by Bible Study Tools, 3-4-2024. (1) Do Not Worry…Matthew 6:34, image created by Tricia Goyer, 5-14-2-16. (2) The Best Is Yet To Come, image created by Shane Hale, 1-18-2024. (3) Shane Hale, photo by Michelle Hale.