Just some early morning thoughts from me to you…
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”
Jeremiah 1: 5 (NIV)“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
Jeremiah 29: 11 (NIV)
A lot has changed in baseball and our society as we prepare for the 121st World Series this Friday, October 24, 2025.
A few years ago, I had the privilege of visiting the George H. Bush Presidential Library housed at Texas A & M University in College Station, Texas. As you leave the library, your pathway of departure carries you through a long arcade of timeless classical photographs memorializing some of the pre-eminent moments in history.
And on one wall there is a picture of Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier in baseball. It was in 1947 that Jackie Robinson became the first African American to play baseball in the Major Leagues.
He played that year and throughout his career for the Brooklyn Dodgers. He was named Rookie of the Year, and two years later won the National League Batting Championship with a .342 average, and was selected as the National League’s Most Valuable Player. He ended his career with a lifetime .311 batting average, and was elected to the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame.
But Jackie Robinson’s life and career were not all glory and awards.
On the contrary, it was one in which he was constantly faced with painful racial slurs and hatred from people with unfounded, ignorant, and deep-seated prejudice toward black people in general, simply because of the color of their skin.
And on one occasion three generations ago, when Jackie Robinson’s team was playing in Cincinnati against the Cincinnati Reds, angry racial taunts reached a deafening level.
A white teammate, Pee Wee Reese, the shortstop, and much respected among his fellow players and the fans, called time out during the middle of an inning. As the crowd began to quiet, wondering what was unfolding before them, Reese left his shortstop position and slowly walked over to Jackie Robinson at his second base position, put his arm around his shoulder, and stood there silently.
It was a wordless, but eloquently powerful message which said to the now silent crowd—
“This man is my friend; this man is my brother.”
A moment reminding all in attendance, and us today, how special each of us is to God, as He shares this truth through Jeremiah—
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” Jeremiah 1: 5 (NIV)
As we are each also reminded and called by God to follow the dreams He has planted in your heart and mine, empowered through His promise—
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29: 11 (NIV)
Like the words of the beautiful hymn, “Climb Every Mountain,” from “The Sound of Music” remind us to—
“Climb every mountain, Search high and low,
Follow every byway, Every path you know.
Climb every mountain, Ford every stream,
Follow every rainbow, Till you find your dream…”
As we remember that every day is a new beginning to climb, search, and follow the dreams of the life God created you and me to live with Him.
Climbing, searching, following our dreams—with God.
In His Name–Scott
PS. In the last fifty-eight (58) years there is at least one thing which has not changed, as my Bride will once again receive her World Series yellow roses on the first day of the World Series, as she has on the first day of every World Series since the first year of our marriage in 1967.
Be blessed as you enjoy the closing reprise of the classic song by Rodgers and Hammerstein II— “Climb Every Mountain.”
