Date: 7/20/2010
<br>Author: Devin
<br>Title: Swing ..... and miss
<br><br>July 21, 2010<br><br>In my defense, Melissa Istre is probably one of the best slow-pitch softball players around.  She throws left handed and puts some kind of weird funk on the ball that makes it very difficult to hit.  That being said, I could continue to begin many of my next several statements with “In my defense”, but I would get tired of typing it and you would probably get more tired of reading it.  So, I will just cut to the chase ..... I struck out the other night ..... swinging ..... in SLOW-PITCH softball.  It's one thing to have the umpire call a third strike on you when you don't swing, but it's an entirely different matter when you just completely whiff at a pitch that is coming at you at a blazing 5 mph.  Now, I have never claimed to be a great athlete, and I know those of you who have seen me attempt to play any sport would agree with me.  In fact, there is only one person in my house who has been named All-District in any sport and it ain't yours truly.  Granted, (in my defense), I had slaved all day outside cooking swine in a hot pit and was really tired.  And as a matter of fact, the more I think about it, (in my defense), I think when I swung at that third strike I know that I had sweat in my eyes and I'm satisfied a bug flew in there at some point, so as you might imagine, I couldn't see the ball very clearly at all.  It seems too, (in my defense), that I remember someone may have hollered out my name just about the time my brain told my arms to swing at that pitch, which in turn took my attention away from my attempt at hitting that big yellow ball.  But, I digress.  Oh me, I just realized .....  I'm sorry I broke my “In my defense” sabbatical and put down my “In defense” picket sign.  I guess I just couldn't help myself.<br><br>Does any of this story sound familiar to you?  I'm not talking about the “striking out in softball part”, but rather the “In my defense” part.  Don't you know that on the Day of Judgment that much of God's time will be spent listening to “In my defense” stories?  They will probably go something like this .....  “But God, you see, in my defense,  my mom ..... my dad ..... my husband ..... my wife ..... my kids ..... my friends ..... my job ..... my boss ..... my hobbies ..... my bank account ..... my ”, well, I'm sure you get the picture.  The bottom line is this ..... When I begin a statement with “In my defense”, most of the time I am trying to get someone to buy an excuse for something I did do or for something I didn't do.  When I use the phrase, “In my defense”, I am trying to “craw-fish” out of something I perceive as negative and get myself out of hot water of one kind or another.  Of course, God is not the only one who hears “In my defense”  ..... “but Mr. Officer, in my defense” ..... “but Doc, in my defense” ..... “but Coach, in my defense” ..... “but Sweetheart, in my defense” ..... but Your Honor, in my defense”.  Now granted, I'm not saying that sometimes our “In my defense” moments aren't valid.  Sometimes they are very real and can be justified.  But, in just speaking for myself, I know those valid times are few and far between.  The man in my mirror needs to stop making excuses and become a responsible citizen of the Kingdom of God.  I need to put the blame for my shortcomings exactly where they belong ..... on my own narrow shoulders.<br><br>So, the moral of the softball saga is that I simply swung and missed the pitch.  It was no one's fault but my own.  As I walked back to the dugout dejected, I was thinking desperately of someone I could blame for my non-ESPY moment, and then I realized ..... I was the one holding the bat.<br><br>Go the extra mile - Devin<br><br><br>  <br>