Everyone has heard the expression “what goes up must come
down” and being a science teacher, I know all about Newton’s laws and Einstein’s
theories. Being in baseball,
I know that it is much more than law or theory; it is reality. Anyone who follows an athlete’s career
from draft day to retiring can also confirm this.
While some guys shoot straight to the top, it is much more
common to slowly climb, move up and down, or bounce from team to team. In Steven’s career he’s been moved up for
temporary reasons (like to be an extra arm in a playoff run) but most of the
time when moves are made there is no timeline. It is easy to get caught up in the excitement of reaching
the next level but at some point reality sets in and you realize that you can
just as easily be moved back down.
Of course the flip side of that is that you can also called up and get
that shot at the big leagues.
Every performance becomes so critical and sometimes its really just
about doing the right thing in the right place at the right time. Baseball is so circumstantial and
fickle. It plays with your
emotions and more importantly; it plays with your life.
Recently Steven went through a slump and I found myself
fixated on the idea that we’d be headed back to Tennessee. Steven had warned me not to “ride the
rollercoaster” when he was moved up to Tacoma but without really even realizing
it, I had. It took a lot of
prayers and kind words from friends and family to ease my mind. I had to remember that Steven had given
his career to God and while I might pray for 1-2-3 innings, that just might not
be His plan. I had to remember back to early in the season when someone told
Steven to think of himself as a flower and grow wherever he is planted….even if
we’re replanted in Jackson.
Once I was able to give in and stop worrying, Steven had a
great outing. I reflected on
the whole experience and realized I would need to keep things in check if I was
going to survive this lifestyle.
I would have to accept that we would have some great moments but
possibly some not so great ones because our goal was to defy gravity…to go up
and stay up, and then go up even higher.
