Turns

Karl has played baseball as long as he can remember.  From T-ball through little league and on through the professional leagues, baseball is in his blood.  Karl has learned from more coaches than he can remember.  Each added to his knowledge and yet his performance over the past decade has been flat.  I would not suggest that Karl’s skills are diminishing or should be considered as poor.  He is very good at his job!  He continues to play at a professional level in a very competitive environment.  There is little loyalty to a name or the past.  It is always about winning and the opportunities at hand.
 
For reasons that Karl and those around him cannot fully describe something recently happened.  A new coach came into his life.  I have seen this coach in action for years.  While good, he is not a miracle worker.  When he was a player, he was known for being consistent with the fundamentals.  He also had a reputation for always showing up to play the game.  Intensity, passion, and solid fundamentals were a given when you watched him compete!  Now he brings these skills with a willingness to teach to the game.  Karl is the beneficiary of his coach’s dedication.
 
I do not know what his coach said or did.  The people around Karl do not know either.  However, one analyst said it well; Karl’s coach said something that Karl understood.  It may have been the same ideas as many before him, yet somehow Karl now heard the words with fresh ears. 
 
It is amazing how fresh ways of describing old ideas can touch your life and mine.  It is a process repeated across the years.  In one case, “as they traveled from town to town, they presented the simple guidelines the Jerusalem apostles and leaders had come up with.  That turned out to be most helpful.”  (Acts 16.4)
 
We carry unique insights of God within our hearts.  Today is an opportunity to be a coach in the lives of those around us.  Our words can nurture, renew, and encourage.