Last night, Chad Bettis took the mound for the Colorado Rockies pitching six innings, giving up three runs and five hits, and even hitting an RBI.
Although the team went on to beat the San Francisco Giants 5-3, the evening wasn’t just about baseball. More importantly, it was a celebration of Bettis' final cancer treatment one-year (and a day) ago.
Diagnosed in November 2016, Bettis had surgery and endured three bouts of chemotherapy as the disease spread to his lymph nodes. Following his brave fight, he received a cancer-free diagnosis and returned to baseball last August.
Getting back on the field and being able to pitch at a high level again (after going through such challenging circumstances), reveals Bettis' true character.
A recent quote from his agent, Matt Sosnick, gives us greater insight: "He has the unique mix of being an unbelievably strong personality, like a bulldog, and a totally gentle people person. He was thrilled when he found out he was having a girl. He talks about how much he loves his wife all the time.
"He has this life-tough, totally serious, Alpha male personality as a pitcher. But when you deal with him the rest of the time, he's a different person. He's able to take how driven and type A he is and totally turn that off when he's dealing with people he loves.''
There’s no question that it takes toughness and determination to fight cancer and return to the baseball diamond, but being able to incorporate the softer side at the same time is especially inspiring.
In sports and life, we are often praised for our perseverance, competitiveness, and grit...but how often are we recognized or encouraged for being gentle, kind, and meek?
Although we'd rather be characterized as hard-nosed, intense, and tough, isn't there also value in being loving and approachable in certain situations? We don’t have to see meekness as a weakness or our softer side as something to hide...do we?
Jesus gives many examples of this in the Bible. He doesn't back down when He needs to, but at the same time, He's gentle and humble.
In Matthew 11:29 (AMP) Jesus says, "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me , for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest (renewal, blessed quiet) for your souls.”
But then in Mark 3, Jesus doesn't back down against the religious people who are looking for a reason to accuse Him of breaking the law on the Sabbath.
Verse 5 explains that He heals him anyway: "He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts said to the man , 'Stretch out your hand.' He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored."
Jesus is strong and stands up for what is right in this story, and then does the same in Matthew 21 when He flips over the tables of the money changers in the temple. Countless times He demonstrates how to be both courageous and gentle depending on the situation.
Today, let's follow Jesus' honorable example of toughness while also loving well and caring for people. Let's also learn to be okay with turning off our toughness to embrace our softer side when we need to.
As Colossians 3:12 (NLT) says, "Since God chose you to be the holy people He loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.”
I’m Bryce Johnson and you can unpack that!
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, I desire to remain determined, strong, and tough while also being meek, gentle, and kind. Help me to know the appropriate way to act according to my circumstances. In Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen.
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