The Offseason is an Opportunity
It’s that time of year again. Yes, I’m talking about pumpkin spice lattes, college game day and cool nights around a warm fire pit.
But I’m also talking about this time of year that some of you have been waiting for since the trade deadline — the season is over and the time has come to transition into the offseason.
(Unless you are currently playing for the Phillies, Diamondbacks, Rangers or Astros which, if that’s you… congratulations! Enjoy the moment while the rest of us watch from home.)
The offseason is a time of transition and reentering into your “other life” — a time to reconnect with family and friends, to resettle into what you call home and to remember that there are more important things about you than your exit velocity or your spin rate. I hope you find these next 3-4 months restful, replenishing and reenergizing for your body, mind and soul, and that it is a time of blessing and goodness for you and your family as a whole.
Most off-seasons seem to have this natural rhythm to it. You come home and immediately experience this combination of crashing from a long season and yet, at the same time, relishing this sense of freedom you now feel. After this initial experience, you begin to reflect on the previous season and reevaluate where you’re at in your career. And from there, you move into preparation mode with the hope that you will use this offseason to become an even better baseball player than you were the year before.
It is this last part of using the offseason to become a better baseball player that I want to talk about briefly today.
Because just as this time of year is a great time for improving our skills as a player, it is also a great time for cultivating new practices and habits that will help us improve our character. Or to put that another way, new practices and habits that will help us become more like Jesus.
John Mark Comer, author of the bestselling book The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry, often says, “If you want to experience the life of Jesus, then you have to adopt the lifestyle of Jesus.”
So as you begin this transition into the offseason, think about what this might look like…
What would it look like to use this offseason as a time of intentionally trying to adopt the lifestyle of Jesus?
What would it look like to use this offseason to develop new routines and habits that help us become more like Jesus?
What would it look like to view this transition into the offseason as a tremendous opportunity for transformation and change?
Here’s an idea of what we’re talking about.
As we read through The Gospels, we notice that Jesus’ lifestyle consisted of certain routines and habits:
He lived at a slower pace and never seemed to be in a hurry.
He spent a lot of time in community.
He also spent a lot of time alone in silence and solitude.
He practiced Sabbath and attended the Synagogue regularly.
He lived a life of simplicity (minimalistic in our more modern terms).
He lived with a real sense of peace.
As you look over this short list, what stands out to you?
And once you notice what stands out to you, how might you cultivate and implement this in your own life this offseason?
