October.  Postseason bliss.

I’m a St. Louis girl living in the Cincinnati area.  So, this year, I’m ecstatic that two of my teams were in the postseason blitz.  Yet World Series success can happen to only one of my teams now that Cincinnati’s dreams are gone.  While I am pretty sure that God doesn’t choose one team over another in sports, sometimes God calls us to see lessons in the last few innings of baseball.

• It’s all mental.

The Reds were doing a phenomenal job defeating the Giants on their turf.  Yet when the Reds returned back to Cincinnati, the Giants returned the favor… the first night… the second night… the third night.  World Series dreams ended for the Reds as the Giants moved forward.

Could the Reds have come back?  Or after each defeat, were they expecting another loss?

Do we play our lives like the Reds did in this postseason?  Do we assume we will lose the next game, and the one following?  When we catch momentum, do we find it easier to sail to the next step?  Does our mind win or lose our game for us?

• Is the game over yet?  Not for the Cards.

Two years in a row, the Cardinals have been outs away from being defeated.  Yet they come back.  And it was a comeback of record proportions.

How close are we to our final out but then find our second wind?  What does it mean to us that even when facing defeat there’s still a chance for us to win?

The Cardinals have taught me to hope in the face of loss.  Even when the fans are in locked rooms like the apostles after the death of Jesus, hope appears to them.  That’s what it means to be a Cardinals fan in the 2010’s.

• Resources don’t necessarily matter.  There’s still a chance to win!

The Yankees have the highest payroll, yet the Tigers, the team with the fifth highest payroll, defeated them in the ALCS.  The Cardinals lost Pujols, yet they are back in the NLCS this year.  While having greater resources tends to give advantage, it doesn’t always guarantee a win.

In our society, those with the most resources win more often.  But more money and more power doesn’t mean that person will always win.  Sure, the Yankees are the empire of Major League Baseball.  Do they win every year?  No.  Sometimes the underdog wins.  Sometimes the least likely person wins.  Sometimes, it’s our turn to win.

With God and a dash of hope, there’s always a chance of winning.