All We Cherish

Dick Howser was a much-loved manager of the Kansas City Royals baseball team in the 1980s. When he resigned due to brain cancer, his wife Nancy said, “As a child, I was brought up to believe that it is not whether or not you won or lost, but how you played the game that mattered. Then in the real world, I learned you had to win to get anywhere and it didn’t matter how you did it. But now after what has happened to Dick, I realize the old way is the right way. It really and truly is how you play the game.”

It is indeed the vulnerable moments of life that cause us to rethink what is really important, and the way in which we are living. 

We have only one shot at this life, and we will not always get it right. But let’s not make the mistake of waiting until the end to be in touch with deeper meaning and purpose. Let’s not wait until the end, to make adjustments to the way we are playing the game. Today, may you reflect on the people and values you deeply cherish. Give thanks to God for them, and think again about their place and priority in your life. 

Let us pray: Gracious God, we thank you for the gift of this day and indeed for the gift of life itself. Some of us today may feel as though our lives have lost meaning and hope. Others of us may feel lonely and others still may feel very far from you. Meet us this day right where we are. Work healing into our lives, and reconnect us to what is truly important, truly good, truly life-giving. Empower us again to order our lives in such a way that we both find hope and offer hope to others. We ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.