October 4, 2022
Dear friends,
Last year around this time I was all in on Joctoberfest. For those that don’t remember, Joe Pederson was a player who came to the Atlanta Braves last year, and kind of had a middle of the road season…until October. He did the same thing for the World Series Champions, the LA Dodgers, the year before. A good player, but not a stand-out player, until October hits when all of a sudden, he can’t miss.
Joc is kind of a strange guy, and last season he made a bold choice. A lot of major league baseball players wear custom jewelry, and Joc Pederson is no different. But last season, he started wearing pearls. So when you usually see big gold chains with custom diamond engraved pendants hanging around the muscular necks of the world’s best players, this guy would stroll up there wearing a string of pearls usually associated with southern ladies at tea-time. The fans locked onto it, and EVERYONE started wearing pearls to the games. In the deciding game 6 win when the World Series Champion Atlanta Braves won it all, I went with some friends down to the Braves stadium to watch (the final game was in Houston). And sure enough, I was given a string of “pearls” (I only assume Joc’s were real) while I watched them win it all.
It's so funny how things happen that way. I am not superstitious, but when things like this happen it makes me wonder. I will say though, that I have seen the Holy Spirit show up in unexpected ways at unexpected times through unexpected people. Sometimes I’m ready to see it, sometimes I’m not, but I have seen it. I don’t attribute it to a magic formula or a string of pearls, but I do know that all of a sudden, I find myself in an important moment, and in the presence of God. I pray that this October, that we all will find ourselves getting swept away by the Holy Spirit. It will be exciting, and unexpected, and we will be in a posture of prayer and acceptance to live into the amazing adventure on which God is taking us.
Peace,
Jordan