Day 34 : You must see what's not visible yet

I’d heard about a baseball stadium they were planning on building in downtown Charlotte. But, I could never picture it, or feel it. It wasn’t real. Just an idea, a plan, a vague dream. I didn’t care.

Until now.

For unrelated reasons, we ended up in an empty lot near downtown. And there it was.

Home plate.

Picture it

On the spot where they hope to put the new stadium, someone built a box with infield dirt and a real embedded home plate. I saw that, and the whole thing woke up. Even though it’s still a dream, I get it. I feel it.

I hear the echo of vendors walking the aisles hawking hot dogs and FreshPak peanuts. I see kids birthday parties on the concourse and couples holding hands on a date night. Parking is close, the summer air is fresh, and that skyline view over centerfield rocks.

I want it to happen. I think I’ll cry.

All that from one little lonely home plate.

That’s what getting specific does. It brings hope alive.

Plant your home plate

Our family is hoping for a piece of property in rural North Carolina. Each of us sees a role the property plays in each of our ministries. We see a family thing, but how it all works together is fuzzy and shadowy.

We don’t leave it dim and dark; we light it up with conversations describing what we see. We visit properties and stand on the land to force it into visibility. We carry our home plate with us in our hearts; soon we’ll plant it in the ground and take another step toward hope.

Hazy hope is your enemy. You have to work to blow the fog away. Plant your home plate as soon as you can; you can always move it later.

Hope contains precise, distinct details. Which ones do you see?

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To start at the beginning of 31+ Days of Scary Hope : encouragement to go from IS to COULD BE, click HERE. To subscribe to automatically receive each day, click HERE.

Comments

[Donna]

speechless at the moment.........i think i'll cry.............

[Joanna]

Please keep going with the scary hope! I have held onto your every word through the whole month of October with a specific situation in mind... that just so happened to come about at the beginning of October. Your words are refreshingly sweet and encouraging as I dare to have scary hope on a daily basis. I feel as if you've been speaking directly to me!

[Joy Manoleros]

What Joanna ^ said :o)

[Donna]

I'm with you Joy. "What Joanna said"