Something new and wonderful happened last night. The Chicago Cubs became World Series champions for the first time since 1908.
Amidst the celebration, we can learn so much to help us in life. Baseball is not just a sport. It teaches us about life. Here are ten truths we can learn from the Chicago Cubs victory:
- Be patient: Longfellow wrote “good thing comes to those who but wait.” The Cubs had not won a World Series since 1908. This drought was the longest in baseball. But it ended. When going through difficult times, remember, as King Solomon once put it, “This, too, shall pass.”
- Honor the past: On my Facebook feed, so many friends posted pictures of deceased parents wearing Cubs hats. Baseball unites generations. Like faith, It reminds us we are part of a team, an idea, much larger than ourselves.
- Have a plan: When he came to Chicago in 2011, Baseball operations President Theo Epstein said, “I’ve got a plan.” He followed it. The Cubs executed on it. What do you want to achieve in life? Plan for it. Of course, you may need to make mid-course adjustments. But consistentency and persistence pay off.
- Celebrate good times: We live in anxious times. That makes celebrating all the more important. Joy is infectious. When we celebrate our joy, we spread the spirit to others. Here in Chicago, even White Sox fans are celebrating the Cubs.
- Hope is powerful: Cubs fans know all the legends of curses and superstitions. Yet, we know they don’t matter. Hope does. Hope gets us through painful times. One man held a sign at the final game that said, “Now I can die in peace.”
- Momentum defies statistics: The Cubs defied all odds by winning three games in a row rally back from earlier losses. Momentum is powerful. It can push us to overcome pain and loss. If we start with small victories in our life, we can gain the energy to help us get big ones.
- Trust: Facebook has made it possible for everyone to broadcast their game analysis to the world. Whenever a coach makes a decision, some people mock or question it. But sometimes we just need to trust. In life, God has our back. It may not always seem that way, and we have lots of questions, but sometimes we just need to act, and trust that everything will be okay.
- Life can feel lonely: A good friend wrote before game seven about remaining a Cubs fan through the long drought and painful years of loss. Whether we are baseball fans or not, we will face those periods in life. And we will feel alone. But faith reminds us we are never truly alone. And Cubs fans knew that last night.
- We are a community: A few years ago I read a book arguing that the San Francisco 49ers of the 1980s helped the city of San Francisco come together and overcome its many tragedies of the 1970s. Chicago faces many challenges. The Cubs may help bring us together to confront them.
- Great achievements take time: It took the Israelites 40 years to reach the Promised Land. It took the Cubs 108 years to win another World Series series. The the best things in life are worth waiting for. They take time to come to fruition. And we are lucky enough to live in such times.
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