The White Falcon - 18.08.2005, Page 6

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The ‘Not So Perfect’ Game
By Chaplain R.L. Roe
He strode confidently to the mound. One goal
dominated his thinking: to pitch a perfect game. Only
a handful of others had accomplished this feat. His
hopes were high that today he would join that elite
group.
Tension mounted. The leadoff batter took his stance,
dug in, and waited for the pitcher’s first offering. The
slugger couldn’t believe his eyes. The very first pitch
seemed to be to his liking! Momentarily the ball was
35 feet beyond the left field fence. So much for the
pitchers dream of a perfect game!
But, then an amazing thing happened. The pitcher
relaxed and retired the next 27 batters in order. His
teammates scratched out a couple of runs through the
next nine innings. And though it wasn’t exactly a blow
out, it looked good in the win column.
In the post game interview the pitcher commented,
“In a way, I’m glad I made a mistake on my first pitch.
It took the pressure off me to hurl a perfect game. I was
able to settle down, go the distance, and take care of the
business at hand.”
Life is sometimes like that. At least that’s how it was
for me. There were some things that happened early on
in life that I’d just as soon forget. But those failures in
the early going brought me face to face with the brutal
reality that mine would not be a flawless performance.
If I made it at all, grace would have to take me the
distance.
Sure enough, it hasn’t been a perfect game. Sometimes
I’ve been benched. Other times I’ve been clobbered.
And with each tumble my bragging rights have gone
south.
However often I have failed Him, God has never
failed me. Somehow He has always managed to take
care of business. The phrase, ‘Not of Works, but of
Grace’ has become more than a religious cliche. All
the way through the game of life it has proven to be an
incontrovertible and incontestable fact.
Now that I am continuing to grow and go farther in
the innings of life, I find myself looking back over the
game with increasing frequency. And the closer I get
to the end of the day, the more I become convinced
of one thing: my performance has never justified His
investment in me. And it would by my guess that it
never will.
ite TaCcori
vr
Commander, Iceland Defense Force
Col. Craig Croxton, USAF
Public Affairs Officer
Lt. Christopher Usselman
Deputy PAO
Fri6|)6r Kr. Eydal
Assistant PAO
JOC(SW) James Junior
Administrative Assistant
Sigridur Svansdottir
Journalists
J01(SW/AW) Mat Sohl
J02 Matthew Bradley
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Page 6
The White Falcon
Aug. 18, 2005