Cardinal Fever!

Growing up in southeast Missouri, I was a kid obsessed with St. Louis Cardinal baseball. To say that I was an avid "fan" would have been a major understatement. I spent all my time in the field behind our trailer, imitating the athletic heroics of all my favorite players. During those seemingly endless Sunday night church services, I covered every square inch of our bulletin with pictoral drawings of the legendary Cardinal line-up: Ozzie Smith, Lou Brock, Stan Musial, Kieth Hernandez, Bruce Sutter. My imagination was burning with Cardinal fever! One year, I even convinced my sisters to include the team in their bedtime prayers every night--calling each player by name...Ha! (I was preparing for the ministry then and didn't even know it!) The year was 1982, and the Cardinals beat the Brewers for the World Series!

When my parents moved us to Baton Rouge in the late 80's, I still followed the Cardinals but from a distance. My childhood interest in sports began to change when I embraced God's call on my life for the ministry. Serving on staff now for over a decade, most of my time is consumed with helping people cross the line of faith. My competitive streak has shifted gears from winning games to winning souls. Eternity doesn't hang on the hook of who wins this year's BCS, Super Bowl, or pennant race.

I must confess, however, I caught a fever this past month--it had streaks of red! I felt like an 8 year old boy again: glued to my TV set, a nervous wreck with every pitch, and shouting instructions to the team. When St. Louis won the World Series Friday night, it brought me back to that little trailer park some 24 years ago. I don't know why I get so emotional over stuff like this...I guess I am just re-living something I cherished as a boy. Does God really care about who wins the World Series??? Who can really say? I don't know, but Friday night I sure did!