Break It In

I bought my son a new ball glove for his birthday (shhh, don't tell him!!). He needed a new one as he starts his high school baseball career anyway, so it's a win-win deal!!

I don't know how many of you have bought a new glove before, but when you get one, it is usually stiff as a board. The leather is fresh and smells great, but the glove is almost useless, because it is stiff and you can't open and close it very well. It's hard to catch a ball in it when you can't close the glove around it.

The first thing I always do when I get a new glove is to get out my can of shaving cream and just totally cover it, rubbing the shaving cream into the leather until it is all worked in. Then I spend literally hours just working the glove with my hands. As I tug and pull and twist the leather, it starts to become softer and more pliable. Eventually, the glove is "broken in", and is ready for use.

As Christians, we are sometimes like this new glove. We're fresh and full of ideas (hopefully we smell good), but oftentimes we're in need of some working by God to make us ready for service to Him. As we pray, read the scriptures, fellowship with others, and seek God's will, we become "broken in" and useful. Just like a broken in glove catches a baseball much better than a stiff new one, so we will be more likely and able to catch souls for God when we've been properly prepared by our spiritual discipline. Now that you're properly broken in, go out there and.....PLAY BALL!!

De Colores