All of life is a series of daring explorations from a secure base.
I read the above quote from journalist David Brooks of the New York Times and immediately thought of baseball. Now, mind you, I know precious little about that sport. Even in a family full of baseball enthusiasts—husband, kids, two grandsons—I struggle to maintain my interest during the endless, 72-inning games (at least that’s how long they feel to me). My grandfather was a minor league shortstop back in the day, and we have a photo of him standing next to Babe Ruth, the most recognizable player in the history of the game. The first time I saw the picture, the Bambino needed to be pointed out to me. That’s the level of nonfan I am.
Yet, I’m keenly focused whenever a player comes up to bat, prepared to hit the ball onto the field from home plate, ready for their adventure. Will they strike out? How far will they journey? Will they be tagged by the opposing team? Steal a base? And I always snap to attention when they are finally sliding into home. I cheer them on and breathe a sigh of relief when they touch the plate, knowing they are safe at last.
In an ideal world, every single person would have a secure and nurturing home base. A place to gather strength and courage for life’s journeys, and a warm and loving place to return, rest and regroup. Those of us who were lucky enough to experience this kind of launchpad tend to assume it as a given—or at least, as the experience of most little ones. But that’s not true. Far too many children lack any firm foundation whatsoever. Family dysfunction, abuse and neglect are sad and common realities. Many of us begin our life’s journey with two strikes against us.
As a mom, it’s hard to imagine reaching a point where I would ever mistreat my kids. But then, I’ve never been addicted to drugs, or faced hunger or homelessness, or been in an abusive relationship with a partner. The longer I live, the less inclined I am to condemn most people. The most important thing is to get those little ones out of danger, to a safe place. Still, it’s heartbreaking to think of children who don’t have a cozy nest from which to fly. Mother birds do a much better job of building nests and nurturing their young than many humans do.
We are each called to be embodiments of God’s home base for everyone we encounter. We can be the understanding teacher for the struggling child, the compassionate health worker for the patient suffering alone, the caring church member who follows up when someone disappears from worship.
In this game we call life—an immensely challenging game whose rules we only learn as we go along—we each get our turns facing the many unknown pitches hurled at us. We stand there, bats in hand, and hope that what we’ve lived through, all our practice and preparation, will be enough to get us through. We know that sometimes we will foul out or strike out. And even when we hit the ball well, opponents on the field will try to stop our progress. We worry that we’ll never make it back home safely. We may even wonder if there is such a thing as a safe home at all.
But there is good, hopeful news. It’s news that needs to be shared widely, and we are the ones to share it.
Whatever our situation, God wants to be home base for all of us. The God who made us wants to send us forth into the world equipped with faith and joy, and to welcome us back with open arms. Even—or maybe especially—for those of us who lack a loving foundation, God wants us to know, deep in our hearts, that it’s never too late to be grounded in love. More than that, God wants to level the playing field, to give us all an equal shot at a happy and fulfilled life.
The best news? We all have an important part to play. We are each called to be embodiments of God’s home base for everyone we encounter. We can be the understanding teacher for the struggling child, the compassionate health worker for the patient suffering alone, the caring church member who follows up when someone disappears from worship. We can be the neighbor who notices when the person down the street is sad, or hurt, or lonely or lost. We have a sacred charge: to partner with God in providing a secure home base for everyone. With our loving words and actions, we can support the small explorations in life that build confidence to tackle major challenges later on.
We can reassure even the youngest, even the shakiest, among us that we have a loving Creator on our side. We can encourage one another to talk to God in prayer, to bring our sorrows and cares to the Lord. In our lonely and lost moments, we can urge our fellow players to touch base with our Home, and to know we will all be safe. Surrounded by, and held in, God’s love, we can move through the world with confidence, exploring, learning, growing—and finding happiness and meaning in life.
With God’s help, may we provide one another with that oh so important, warm and comfortable launch and landing spot. May we each have everything we need, for all of life’s daring adventures.
