Pslogging Through Mud

I'm the bench coach for my son's baseball team. I think it's the hardest job on the coaching staff. It's the ultimate in workflow management.

One kid out of the dugout at a time. Make sure the kid has a helmet and a bat (can't leave anything to assumption in 7-&-under coach-pitch baseball). Help the next kids in the batting order get ready to bat ("put your glove down, put a helmet on, get a bat, don't hit your teammates with the bat..."). Help the kid who will play catcher next inning put on the shin guards and chest protector. Keep the other kids on the team - the ones who aren't batting, getting ready to bat or getting ready to catch - from injuring one another with bats and balls because of boredom or short attention spans. And I keep the scorebook, too.

I love doing it. Really, I do.

A few weeks ago, we had a couple of heavy rain showers during the week. I fully expected that our games that weekend would be cancelled. My son's soccer game was rained out that day, but his baseball game was not.

The field drained well, considering all of the rain we had that week. There was one exception, though. The dirt area right in front of the dugout was a mud pit too tempting even for the cleanest of children to avoid.

The pregame lecture delivered by the head coach went unheeded. Every single boy put at least one cleat in the mud on his way to bat, after he ran the bases, on his way onto the field and on his way back into the dugout. I finally surrendered my vain attempts at protecting the mud after two innings of futility.

I noticed that walking through the mud causes three problems. First, it's messy. This is the one that most of the team mom's expressed. Second, the traction is poor. One kid in the next game slipped and fell on his bottom as he ran through the noted mud. It wasn't pretty. Third, it's hard to run with mud in your cleats. It makes your shoes heavy, and it slows you down.

Psalm 40:2-3 says this,

He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
and gave me a firm place to stand.

He put a new song in my mouth,
a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear
and put their trust in the LORD.

Okay, I'll admit it. I've been a seven year-old boy who couldn't resist the temptation to step through the mud. It brings a moment of pleasure and elation, but the consequences are predictable.

Walk through the mud, and you get messy. Sometimes the mess is easily cleaned, and sometimes it leaves a stain.

Walk through the mud, and your footing gets treacherous. Run through the mud enough times with enough abandon, and eventually you'll slip and fall and find yourself in a bigger mess.

Walk through the mud even just a little, and the walk gets harder. It can become an outright slog. You carry extra weight. It makes you less agile. You tire more quickly.

Life doesn't have to be a slog, though. God lifts us out of the mud. God cleans us off when we've made a mess out of ourselves. Then God gives us a firm place to stand.

Why are we afraid sometimes to admit that we've stepped in the mud? It doesn't matter if you put your foot in the edge, or if you dance in the middle. You've still stepped in the mud. And the stains are hard to hide. Come on, admit it. There's a mud pit somewhere that you've stepped in, isn't there?

When God lifts you out of the mud, God puts a new song in your mouth. It doesn't matter if you sing well or not. Others will see what's happened and take notice. Maybe they'll realize they can trust God to lift them out of the mud they're in, too.