Begin To See Yourself

Act like you CANNOT FAIL.

Alright, you’re up! Babe thought to himself. It took a couple of moments for him to stand up from the bench. A small part of him was enjoying where he was sitting in the dugout just below the current of the breeze. They don’t call Chicago “The Windy City” for nothing. But no chilly Chicago air was going to stop him from doing what he had in mind to do.

As he stepped out from the dugout swinging his bat, he had to chuckle at the immediate deffening boos from the Cubs fans. They had good reason, Babe thought, the Yankees were keeping the series tied and the people of Chicago didn’t like it one bit. But who cares he concluded.

Chicago pitcher Charlie Root was on the mound watching the 37 year old slugger lumber to the plate. He was encouraged by the desdain given to the batter at the plate, but Root’s mind was racing on what to throw past this brute. This was no ordinary come and go player. This was the living legend. The Bambino. The Sultan of Swat. This was Babe Ruth. And this was not the time to lose it.

Babe stood at the plate with his bat down and looked at Root as if it was going to be a showdown. He wanted Root to understand the seriousness of them facing off during the third

by Allister and Tracey Thomas

game of the World Series. But instead of returning the hard gaze back at Babe, Root decided to turn his back on him to exchange words with the second baseman and brush the dirt on the mound with his cleats.

That does it! Babe thought. This guy had been playing almost as long as he had and was gonna treat him like he was some chump! Babe looked around at the booing crowd for a short moment. These people were insulting him at no end. They harrassed him every minute of the hour trying to get him off his game ever since he got in this town. He looked over at the Cubs dugout and could see them jeering and taunting him like

the people in the stands. ‘One of these yahoos even spat on my wife and was too chicken to own up to it, he thought to himself. He looked at Root once more who’s back was still facing him. Babe then stood straight up and quickly looked around at the Chicago fans to get their attention even more. He lifted his right hand and pointed right to center field. The immense booing died down a bit as the people in the stands were puzzled by his action with a one general question in mind... what’s he pointing at?

Babe got in stance as Charlie Root turned around seeing him ready at the plate. Root wound up for the pitch and screamed a fastball past Babe. “STRIKE ONE!” shouted umpire Roy Van Graflan. The crowd broke out cheering as Babe took his stance again with his bat on his shoulder. Root delivered a breaking ball which caused Babe to give a mighty swing and a miss. “STRIKE TWO!” the umpire screamed. The crowd was on their feet howling in excitement. They were about to see The Yankee Hero, The Great Bambino get struck out. Babe stood up and stood straight once more. “I got somethin’ for ya... I got somethin’ for all o’ ya!’” he mumbled to himself with a smirk. Then he pointed again to centre field. The crowd knew what Babe was trying to say and so did Root, and Root was infuriated. Root looked at his fellow players in the outfield outraged by The Babe’s impertinence. This gorilla forgot who’s field he’s playing in, Root thought as he looked into Babe Ruth’s eyes. Babe took his stance once more as both players looked at each other. Root wound up for the pitch once again and hurled a lightning bolt of a curve ball. Babe tightened his shoulders and torqued his bat for a hard smooth swing, connecting the white horsehide ball with an echoing CRACK! The ball was careening into the air. The crowd fell silent as every eye watched the ball soar higher and higher as if it was going to go into orbit. A few spectators looked on in complete shock and grief as Babe did the most brisk of slow jogs heading to first base laughing in spite of himself as the ball was hitting it’s arc. He was passing the Cubs dugout looking at every player peeking out with their eyes glued on the ball. “THE BALL IS GOING, GOING,GOING HIGH INTO THE CENTRE FIELD STANDS... “AND IT’S A HOME RUN!” shouted Cubs broadcaster Tom Manning. The Cubs dugout fell back defeated as if they were shot by machine gun fire. Babe looked up at his wife in the stands as he was heading home base giving her a look as if to say, ‘no one messes with my woman.’ The crowd was at their feet in a weird silence by what they just witnessed. They wanted to boo, yell and scream at him. But how could they? They all knew they witnessed something painfully special. They all knew they witnessed history. And despite all the factors that was against him, and the insurmountable amount of people that opposed him, on that day of October 1st, 1932, at game 3 of the World Series with the score tied at 3-3 with two strikes against him, the people of Chicago in Wrigley field witnessed for the first time, a man who acted like he could not fail.

It is time for you to begin to see yourself acting like you cannot fail in this season, because your foundation in God is stronger than any circumstance that may come your way. Have the wisdom to know that you are very valuable to the Lord. He cares about your success. You may have to navigate through a few bumps along the way or go through a redirection, but ultimately it is your consistent persistence to win that God wants to see from you. And as long as you are willing to do your part, God will do His. He will bring the right opportunities, open the right doors, or introduce you to the right people.

When God is for you, who can be against you, right? You cannot fail when you trust in the Lord with all your heart, with all your strength, or with all your might. So don’t be afraid to take that step towards fulfilling God’s plan for your life. You will not fail if you take the necessary steps to prepare, plan and execute. And if things change, take some time to rethink, reorganize, or refocus yourself, and then get back up and go again.

The only time you fail is if you quit. Because remember faith without works is dead. Faith is an actionable movement that is full of life! So encourage yourself today and say out loud, “I will act like I cannot fail because I am unstoppable with the Lord my God on my side!”

Begin to see yourself everyday doing something that will take you closer to your goals and in no time you will achieve great success!