Another lesson from the world of baseball: On Saturday Texas Ranger, Josh Hamilton, met with the media and admitted that he had "fallen off the wagon" and gone on a drinking binge during the off season. For those not familiar with his story, Josh was one of the top prospects in baseball until drugs and alcohol side-tracked his career. Since turning his life around in 2005, he's become a strong spokesman for Jesus Christ, giving credit to The Lord for the changes in his life. You can check out his testimony on www.iamsecond.com.
As a life-long sinner, I can identify with Josh. The one difference is that to my knowledge my sins have never been posted on youtube. We all stumble. We also all live under grace. Sins confessed, are sins forgiven. "A broken and contrite heart O Lord, you will not dispise." (Psalm 51:17)
What impressed me most about Josh Hamilton's response was that he immediately took ownership of his misdeed. When he awoke the morning after his binge he immediately called Ranger General Manager, John Daniels, the office of Major League Baseball, and his personal friend and his accountability partner, Ranger Coach Johnny Narron. He also apparently confided in a couple of his teammate. That means these men kept it private and kept a vow of confidentiality for at least six months.
There are some lessons here for parents. Number one is the power of addiction and the need to discuss that with our kids. There is also a powerful lesson here in terms of forgiveness. Nobody is pointing a finger at Josh. Everyone is willing to put the incident behind them and move on. There is across the board support. Josh Hamilton is still a friend and teammate. When our kids fall short of our expectation, and yes break our hearts, they are still our kids. God still loves them and so should we.
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