It has been unbelievable watching the playoff run of the Giants, San Francisco that is. One thing I have noticed is that the Giants seem to be doing something a little different than usual. This year has certainly been a year for pitching. I was disappointed that Randy Johnson didn’t last longer than the first part of July. I think many fans were please with how Barry Zito was starting out this year, but then as the year went along it he didn’t seem to have the stuff some of the others had.
The bull pen in September really started to show the support they needed to give to the five starters. There was a reason, though, that many people were calling Giant’s games “Torture Ball.” A large number of games were won by one run. It was always a nail biter as we waited until the ninth to see if the Giants could pull it off. I heard commentators on the radio say they were tired of the 1-0 games. They said, “Enough is enough.” I don’t think they would have stopped supporting the Giants it is just that you can only consume so much Pepto Bismal.
Yet last night’s game showed me there is a major difference for the Giants in the play off games. When you have three batters walk in a row, this is the epitome of patience. When Uribe fought off pitch after pitch on a full count and then ended up walking, that is when you know this batter had patience.
Patience is a key ingredient in faithfulness. There are so many times in our lives when we pray for something to happen and we don’t know if God is saying, “No” or God is saying, “Wait.” Yet no matter what we ask we believe God does hear us we just need to be patient, especially if the answer isn’t readily evident. In the last few years I have realized just how important patience is for growth in our faith. We need to be constantly seeking ways in which we can be a better disciple and growth can come through patience. We need to be constantly striving to go deeper with God and be more effective in our lives. This means we need to be patient and listen for God’s word to us.
I am not sure how the next couple of games will end up but one thing I do know if the Giants don’t win the World Series it won’t be because of a lack of patience on their part, their fans have been patient for years, at least some of them. I hope our patience will be rewarded sooner as opposed to later, like another fifty years.
Go Giants!
Pastor Randy
