No matter my condition

Eternal heavenly Father,
When energized or tired,
In good health or sickness,
With abundance or lack,
Alone or surrounded by love,
Regardless of the weather,
Feeling high or low,
Accepted or rejected,
No matter my condition,
I will follow Jesus —
Help me never falter!

Catching chickens and stealing bases

If you are a baseball fan the name Ricky Henderson is synonymous with “base stealing.” Henderson was so good at stealing bases that he reportedly would tell catchers, “If you don’t give me a pitch to hit, I’m going to end up on third base.” Translation: “If you walk me, I’ll steal second and third base.” In Henderson’s 25-year baseball career, he set major league records in unintentional walks, stolen bases, and runs scored.

Henderson was fast—real fast. But what is interesting is how he got so fast. Henderson tells how he lived in Arkansas as a little boy with his grandmother on a farm. He says that in those days “we had to catch a chicken to be able to eat a chicken.” Obviously, Henderson’s speed was partially God-given, but it also was improved through difficulty and hard work. The moral is, when life seems common-place, complex or confusing, God’s providence might just be training you for an opportunity to do something great later.

—Jason Moon, Waterview congregatrion, Richardson TX