Track 2 – “Back Up to the Plate” – Behind the Song

This song came to me when I was standing in right field during one of my son’s baseball games. I was thinking back to those days when I was a kid who spent most of my free time on a baseball field making sure I would be ready when my chance came. Every day it was one of two scenarios–being called in to pitch the last inning with the bases loaded and no one out, or coming up to bat in the bottom of the ninth with two outs and the bases loaded, down by three. I don’t know how many times I lived out that do-or-die scenario, but real life never quite lived up to that dream. Something about needing to be good at baseball kept getting in the way.

Standing in that outfield I began to realize that falling short on a baseball field is like an early version of Impostor Syndrome–“Why did I even think I could do this? They’re all counting on me and I’m not as good as they think I am.” It’s true of other sports, of course, but in either case it’s best to learn from an early age that there will be times when we will fail and think we’re not good enough to handle what is in front of us. That’s when it’s important to see the big picture and understand where this “my life is over” moment fits into our whole lives. Is it really over? Or was it just a poorly-played game that we could win next time?

Additionally, I thought about how much time I had spent on that same field when I was my son’s age. When my parents were trying to teach me the importance of playing the game the right way and not letting wins and losses go to my head. How often do we catch ourselves sharing the same truths to our children that were taught to us at one time? And one day, if we are blessed with the time and opportunity, we will see our children teaching the same to theirs. Suddenly that one time I struck out during an important game takes its proper place in my priorities–it didn’t define my worth because I kept coming back up to the plate. So I’m going to make sure my kids know that when life doesn’t match up to our expectations, it does not reflect on our value. Keep chasing!