Now Batting, Number 2
It's well-documented that over 20 years ago when Yankees ownership asked professional scout Dick Groch if he thought Derek Jeter would be going to Michigan after high school, he famously replied, "The only place this kid is going is Cooperstown." Few predictions have ever proved more true. We've merely had two decades to see what Derek Jeter would do in the meantime.

Yeah guys, ever since I was a kid, I've always been passionate about things in my life. I'm all in. Sentimental. And my favorite athlete of all-time will soon be taking his final bow as he is inducted into Baseball’s Hall of Fame. (He was just one (1) vote shy of unanimous induction.) Seems like it was yesterday that he climbed out of the dugout one last time to wave to the crowd and to those of us watching at home. And I promise you that I was standing in the middle of my living room, holding my wife with one hand and tipping my cap with the other. Like I said, I’m sentimental. After all, between the day of Mr. Groch's prediction of Jeter's destination to the moment of his ultimate induction into baseball's promised land, I watched what he did in the meantime.

All I Know
You know, blessed with having a master's degree in clinical exercise physiology, I can tell you why muscle reacts the way it does. After 8 books and nearly 2 decades of published articles, I can detail why our cells become oxygen-efficient through cardiorespiratory training. In my sleep, I can meticulously diagram the energy systems. I can discuss the finer points of the overload principle and how the body reacts to less, more or the same stimulus from one day to the next. The chemical reaction of fiber damage? Yes. Agility, flexibility, endurance, atrophy? Yep, those too. Like I said, I can explain a lot about this body, but my feeble self can't explain why God gives grace to the soul inside.

All I know is that if you were scouting me the day I accepted Jesus as my Savior, the only place you'd be certain I'd be destined for is Heaven. What I would do in the meantime? That’s another story.

You’d see me stumble through college, squeak by grad school, pull together a publishing career, get fit, get sick, get married (a 25-year marriage held together only by the forgiveness extended to me) and more strikeouts than I’d be able to list. My life has basically been about me. I loved me too much.

You know, Derek Jeter’s career was examined through many filters. Like anyone in the Hall of Fame, Derek needed to meet the highest standards across multiple categories. But if Heaven were dependent upon my play on life’s field, the evidence against me would be insurmountable. No way I’d get in.

I Was Not Enough
Open up the books at the end of my life and you’d see my average. I wasn’t humble enough, modest enough, kind enough, faithful enough, giving enough, submissive enough. I thought bad things, said ugly things, did unthinkable things. Pride took its toll. I lost my temper, my mind, my health, my cool. I was a jerk to friends, drove passed the homeless and ignored the lonely. I’ve been shameful, hateful, ungrateful. I broke every law, made every mistake.

I wasn’t strong, bold or courageous. I didn’t trust God enough, listen enough, respond in time and in some cases at all. I worried more than I worshipped. I ate regret for dinner and had anxiety for breakfast. Impatience, lust, discontentment, self-focus and self-pride followed me all the time. I was a massive contradiction. I had no independent successes and anything credible or worthy was completely owed to God, but I stole that glory too. I’m a glory thief, after all; an applause junkie. Yeah, put my name on the ballot for Heaven, and I was not enough.

But unlike Cooperstown, Heaven isn't dependent upon a selection committee’s collective vote. But just One. Just one (1) vote. Just one Life. (Now would be a good time for an “amen” amen?) Because of that one Life my soul finds rest. Because of that Life, there’s enough mercy. And enough joy, and goodness, and patience and faithfulness and delight and hope and rescue and substitution and restoration.

Because of the life, death and resurrection of Christ, when God looks at me, He sees the blood of His Son. And when He does that, it’s as if I lived the life that Jesus lived. That’s grace. And it’s that grace that compels me to live, love, serve, and strive for obedience. Grace indeed taught my heart to fear and grace my fears relieved. Grace is why I still step inside the box and dig in.

And after nearly 5 decades of life; a life with God’s call upon it to put my health and sickness to use for God’s renown - a life with no skeletons but lots of scars - it seems like I can finally hear the words, “Now batting.”

- Jimmy Peña

FOR DISCUSSION:
Guys, is anyone sentimental like me? Somebody please say 'yes.' Do you ever hold sand in your hand and think of the stars and the length of eternity? Do you ever let neat things like baseball remind you of Jesus and grace and life and grit and getting up and swinging away? Because of Calvary, we're assured Heaven. Oh Lord, what would you have us do in the meantime?

BEHIND THE “2”
I’ve been asked more than once exactly what the meaning is behind the number 2 in much of our writing, logos and merchandise. Well, it represents my second mountain. My second wind. Second chance. My summons to serve those impacted by special needs. It represents The Body and The PrayFit Run. (And it doesn’t hurt that it’s my favorite number and worn by my favorite athlete.) In the end, it represents grace and purpose and significance. I wear my cap every day because I forget about grace, purpose and significance every day.