Let’s Talk Life, ep. 36 - STORIES #2 - with Karl Records

[00:00:00] Speaker A: To welcome you to let's Talk Life. Thanks for tuning in. We've been on this journey, we all are on a journey, but we've been on this journey together to really find the much more in Romans chapter five. It's really the theme of that chapter. We talk abundant life. We talk the amazing gift of righteousness. Both of these things are Jesus, the gift of righteousness, the abundant life. It's Jesus. And when we can receive that and understand that it causes us, as Romans 5:17 says, it causes us to reign in life. And doesn't that just sound amazing? [00:00:48] Speaker B: And so I want that. [00:00:50] Speaker A: Right. I think all people do. It's really what people are looking for. And so this is the reality. Brother, sister in Christ. That's your present reality. [00:01:03] Speaker B: It's yours. Yeah, it's yours. [00:01:05] Speaker A: It's yours. And so that's what we're here to talk about. And Carl, you wanted to share a story and so I'm turning it over to you and. [00:01:16] Speaker B: Oh, that's dangerous. [00:01:17] Speaker A: I look forward to it. [00:01:20] Speaker B: You know, it's, it's just the next chapter in this restoration story of Christ is life. And just wanted to share with you man. And, and just this experience that God gave me. [00:01:36] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:01:37] Speaker B: Over the last month. [00:01:38] Speaker A: Amen. [00:01:38] Speaker B: Over the last month really. And, and, and I, I wrote it out in kind of story form, wanted to share it here and, and so kind of. We'll start, we'll start, we'll start with, we'll start with this, man. It was, it was 7:45 on Saturday, June 14th. And I'm at the Salem Memorial Stadium. It's the Red Sox Single Lay Stadium in Salem, Virginia. And the first pitch of the Class 2 state championship baseball game is at 9am and my oldest Isaac is on the mound for the Max County High School Raiders. And we left the house at like 5:45 and we saw them off on the bus and we wake up the other two boys and they don't want to get up. It was a rough night. And I grabbed this book because I know there's a story in it that I want to read. And it's called On My Worst Day by John Lynch. And so here I am at 7:45 and the bowels of the stadium in this bathroom by myself. And I read this chapter and I identify with J. Lynch so much in his writings vulnerability. But it's from a 2002 story where his son is running the 800 meter championship in Oregon and his son's a sophomore and he's going against these great seniors And John is just begging God to, to, to let, to let his son Caleb finish the race. Like just may, may not do, may not fall flat on his face. And then he changes the prayer to God, do something supernatural, Let him, let him finish on the podium, do something amazing. And he's like, I'm gonna go throw up. And it wasn't the anxiety that I was feeling. It was the overwhelming kindness of God in that moment as I am beginning to weep of God and how good he is. So here it is, 7:45, I'm reading this story, and I begin to cry with uncontrollable tears, and I'm undone. Tears of joy, tears of restoration, tears of amazement at who God is and how he does more than we ask or imagine. And so in the next few moments, God gives me flashbacks of all that he's restoring. So I go back first to March 27, 2019, the beginning, what I call the new life of this surrendering everything to God, my wife, my sons, this growing, thriving church that I thought was growing and thriving for just knowing Jesus, you know, and part of my story that we've already shared on a previous podcast of vulnerability through pain and failure and hurt and choosing Jesus over everyone and everything. And that the sins committed against me and the sins that I had committed against God and others had caught up to me and it reached its limit. And it was repentance and confession that brought me such great forgiveness and freedom and healing and restoration. And it was God's grace that brought me to this full life in Christ. And, and so I go back to 2019 and, and thinking about how nothing good could ever happen to me and my family. Like I had, I had blown it there, like, like it was it. And, and we've, we've seen hundreds, right, of pastors on the wayside, just, you know, right, done. Oh yeah, go away quietly, tail between their legs. That wasn't my story. My story was one of, like, life, like, like, like excited of actually experiencing God's grace for the first time for me, for everything. And yet the enemy had his full arsenal of weapons, right? Throwing shame and gossip and lies as a great accuser does, and vacillating between self righteousness and self pity and, and of course, the remedy, to see who, to see God who he. He really is and to see myself and who I really was, the beloved child of the king. So that was my first flashback. And then I go to January 21st. It was a weeknight, man. We had moved to this small town in Virginia about six Seven months before. And the other two boys, they have friendships. They. They. They're thriving down here. And, and my oldest son, Manny, who moved on his 14th birthday, right, the wounds of moving and, and leaving a baseball team that you had known for three years that you were the hitter, you're the best pitcher, and now you got nothing. I mean, it's the middle of. COVID couldn't find a team, and. And he hates that we moved. And whose fault is it that we had to move? It was my fault. And so here it was. And that. That January 2021 of just saying, God, there's nothing good for me. Like, everything good is out of reach for me. And again, that's sort of like a theme of my life repeating now in my oldest son, who's. Who's. Who's feeling loneliness. Who's. Who's. Who's. Now the loneliness is driving him to some of the same sin patterns of me. And so passing down that and saying, hey, we're gonna. Jesus is breaking this curse, right? Jesus is breaking this. But at that point in time, man, just, Just. Just feeling the woundedness and God meeting us there and, and just a beautiful prayer, my son, who said, God, help me and my dad with our problem. And it was just like this beautiful thing. What was my son recog. Dad's for me, not against me. You know, the worst moments of my life. Dad's for me, not against me, right? Just like the father's love. And. And so that was there. In those moments, it's easy to ask God, where are you? And God, will there be anything good left for me? And yeah, life's hard. Yeah, there's gonna be trouble. Jesus said it. And it's hard enough for us adults to learn how to trust God. And in tough circumstances, how do I show my teenage son to see your hand, God? So then the next thoughts in my mind were the difficulty and hardships over the last four years of baseball for Isaac and being prejudged unfairly and overlooked and mistreated and his kind heart being taken advantage of. And like his 16th birthday where he was promised that he'd start the game. And the first game he didn't start. Second game he didn't start. And it's like, here. Here he is again, being lied to, being mistreated, being. Being misjudged and. And so unfairly. And. And it's like, wow, God, like this. This hurts. And holding my son's pain, right? Trying to. Trying to love him in this, right? And then seeing him persevere and the resilience and the unwavering confidence and seeing him succeed in God's hands all over Isaac in his life and grace upon grace lavished upon. This is Christ's life, not just Christ. On Sunday mornings that we learn what it's like to trust God in all things. Like. Like it wasn't. It wasn't God that caused the catcher to truck. The catcher and then the catchers, the pitcher's thrown out of the game, and all of a sudden Isaac's pitching, right? It wasn't. [00:08:31] Speaker A: It was. [00:08:31] Speaker B: It wasn't God that caused the picture to get shelled, where Isaac came in in the second inning and did amazing, you know, on his 16th birthday. And like, it wasn't God that did those things, but it was trusting God that opened the avenue of seeing he's at work in all things and all things that he's working. And he's good whether we experience a win or a loss, he's good whether we get to play or we don't get to play, like, he is good in it all. But to see these blessings, this unexpected kindness of God. So I'm sitting here thinking about this, and then, man, flashback to me, 13 years of age, pitching, getting shelled. We're beating. We're beating the best team in the league. We're the worst team in the league. And. And I come in to pitch and I blow the lead, and we're still winning, but the bases are loaded. So last inning, and the coach puts me in right field, and I'm just. I'm weeping. I'm crying. And you know this story, right? Here's this hitter, and he hits the ball and it's coming right at me. And so here's the ball right at me, and I drop it. I drop it, and all. All the run score, and I just fall down. I'm like, I'm a failure. I'm a mistake, right? I'm not good. It's kind of. It's kind of a trajectory of me. The highlight of my baseball career is, like, fifth grade, right? So I'm just on this downward slope of. Of not being good at baseball. And so here, Here. This is like, here Isaac and my other sons that, that. That are doing so much better than me. And yet not jealousy, not living my life through them, but being blessed by God, experiencing this. This kindness and this goodness, right? And then. And then beginning of the year when it was the game in March and a good player from Lynchburg hit a liner back at the mound, and from our angle, we Couldn't see where it hit Isaac, but he knocks. He goes to the ground. He spins and falls to the ground, spread eagle, looking up at the sky. And I'm like, my first thought was, he just died. Like, my first thought is, it hit him in the heart and he died. And then. Then he starts moving and then realizing, oh, he actually hit him in the elbow, his pitching elbow. And then thinking, he just shattered his elbow. So not only is he done this year, he's never pitching again. And just that in that moment of he's in great pain and he's in tears, and we're headed to. We're headed to the er, and Jennifer's texting me all these things. She's looking at Google, and I'm like, stop it. Like, stop it. And it was. We just paused and just experience what John Elvis talks about in the wild of heart, of that surrender prayer of saying God, I'm just pausing right now, right? I'm surrendering my hopes and dreams and Isaac's hopes and dreams and his expectations and everything we had for this season and for his life. And we're just giving it to you because what you're going to do, God, is better than anything we can ask or imagine. And you can literally see the baseball for three days. You can see the stitches. Like, it hit him right on it. And we're sitting there, and now we're in the er, and, you know, er, man, we're waiting two hours. You know, we're just waiting and just experiencing calmness, just experiencing his peace. And the doctor, we finally see the doctor, and she starts asking these questions, and it's kind of like, all right, God, he dodged another freaking bullet. Like. Like, there's no. Like, I understand from her question. She's like, well, what happened? Like, because guess what? There's no structural damage. And just sitting there going, God, you are so incredibly kind. Yeah. To us. And it was so amazing because the pastor, I journeyed with an older man. He was actually in the ER at that same time, and there's only like, eight people there. And he comes in, and I see him, and we don't actually talk, but we start texting. And it was like God was just saying, hey, here's a friend who's going through a crisis with his wife, and I'm taking care of them, too. You know, it was like God said, hey, I take care of you. I love you. You know, you're my child. And so that's March. And so now we come to this, right? This. This. This playoff Season where he had already experienced some good things, but in the first game in the playoffs that he pitches in, he pitches a complete game and we win. He gives up zero earned runs and does amazing. And then somehow we win the next game and we get to host the state quarterfinal game against the runners up against a pitcher who's going D1. And Isaac does amazing, and he actually out pitches him. So is one out away from a complete game shutout. And just, just amazing. When he comes off the mound, the. The manager comes out there and it's the last inning and he's at 98 pitches and he says, isaac, do you want to pitch later this week? Well, there might not be another game this week, but there could be. And Isaac says, here's the ball I'm coming off. And he comes off the mound and there's like this standing ovation. And it was just. I was just. I was like Mary, right, pondering these things, treasuring them in her heart of all the crap he went through, all the bad stuff he went through. And here the coaches and the players are hugging him one by one, and he's coming off at home with. With hundreds of people there, and they're seeing a warrior who we went 2 nothing against this mountain team that was really good, and they had expectations and that pitcher was really good, and Isaac, I'll pitch him. And somehow we get to the semifinal game against the returning champs, and they're cocky as can be, and they're from the Virginia beach area and they're really good. And we're losing 2 1, and we get. We get the eighth inning and we're. It's one to one tied. You go extra innings, it's 2 1, bases are loaded, season's over. But the whole day, the mantra, the sort of the chant, the idea was, let's get to tomorrow because Isaac's on the mound. Like all the belief, everything has changed. Where all the players and all the coaches are saying, isaac's our guy. Can we just get one more day? Can we just get to tomorrow? And it's 2:1 and we're losing and bases are loaded and they're going to score more runs than a first baseman makes this leaping catch and he tags first for double play. Well, we're still losing two one, and we get the winning run at third, and there's two outs, and the cocky guy who throws from all these different angles to try and trick us tries this really deceptive pitch that it does. It throws high, is a wild pitch, and we score. And so now we're going to the ninth inning and we get this new pitcher in, he does a great job, and we somehow score. We score on an error by the first baseman who is so cocky and mocking everybody. And we win. And I lose it. I'm on top of the bleach. I'm on top of the dugout dancing. Jennifer has this picture of me dancing because it was like, it was like God saying, one more day. And now I had this vision three weeks ago and I told no one. I tell, I tell. I do not tell Jennifer until after all this weekend. And I had this vision of Isaac pitching in the championship game. So we win. He wins two games. We get to the third game and so now I'm in the ballast. So now here it is, right? So I'm in the bowels of the stadium thinking, we shouldn't be here, Isaac shouldn't be here. Zach, we looked at transferring high schools last summer like it was so bad for him. And he was just going through so much that he couldn't handle and he just needed to be in a different environment. And nothing worked. And God was shutting every single door. But trusting God means there are no's. There are not things that we get that we want. But he has something better that's, that's even greater than we could ask or think or imagine, right? And so here we are. And I'm just weeping at all the things that had to happen for us to get to this day. And finally I said, God said, God, you. You gave me this vision, but why didn't you let me see what happens? It was like God was saying, carl, I want you to be present and enjoy today. [00:16:03] Speaker A: Yes. [00:16:03] Speaker B: And again, it wasn't a promise we're going to win. Right? But it was a promise for me to be present with what happens. And so, so the game begins. I've already cried. I'm already crying like I'm undone. And so I get there and, and one more thing, right? One more thing. So here's what John lynch says in this book. Here's what he says in this book. He says that, that my son was breaking a family line pattern of fear. And he had dared to risk greatness. He had broken a family. Dude, fear has controlled me my whole freaking life. Zach. [00:16:41] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:16:42] Speaker B: I don't want to take risks. I want to play it safe, right. I don't want to have tough conversations. I don't want to put myself out there. I'm going to get hurt. And every time I get hurt, I self protect, right? So I don't let anyone love me. That's the story of my life, the first 42 years of my life. That was my story. And so here's Isaac going out there. Man, this is this great picture, Isaac before the game, when they're announcing everybody. And I took a picture of him, and he's just sitting in the. The dugout by himself, collecting his thoughts, getting in the zone, just his. There's just God living through him, right in him and through him in that moment of just peace and calmness where he says, I want the ball. How many? Eight. How many high schoolers want the ball in a championship game in a minor league stadium, right? But Isaac wanted the ball. And he looks at me, and he looks at me. We make this eye contact and I just give him a thumbs up, like, hey, you're my son and you have what it takes. And so he goes out to the mound and. And the team's playing great behind him, and he's pitching amazing four innings, three up, three down, perfect game through four innings. And he comes off the mountain. I'm like, God, God, is it this good? Like, is it this incredible? And so then the fifth inning, a guy gets a hit, but then the catcher throws him out. A catcher that he trusts, that he loves, that they love each other. And you could just see throughout the last four weeks of the season, the. The team started to trust each other and they were playing for each other, and there was this deep trust and a love. And it wasn't about who gets credit. It's about the team and the mission and the family and just amazing concepts, right? And so in the sixth inning, man, he gets into some trouble. He gets into trouble and we're only up to nothing. And then they score a run. It's 2 to 1, no outs, runner at second. The coach comes out, and here I am, like, saying, all right, God, this is it. This was a great run. And we're all going to congratulate Isaac and say, man, what a great year. What an amazing year. But. But this is when it all unfolds, right? For all of us. I mean, for most of us, this is what happens. We don't get to win the big game. And that's when it hit me. Isaac's breaking a family line, family pattern of fear because the coach leaves and Isaac gets the next two outs. Three outs, man, three outs of the championship. And we score an insurance run. He comes out there in the seventh and he. And in four pitches, he retires the side. Just easy pop ups Easy fly out. And then there's this. There's the third out. And it's incredible. The catcher runs, jumps in the pit, Isaac's arms. The team is chasing Isaac around the mound. And all this happens in 30 seconds. It's as if they expected to win because Isaac was on the mound. And then. And then. One thing I forgot to share. So on that Tuesday, the quarterfinal game, there was an article written about the team. And. And nobody paid attention at Max all year. Nobody. Nobody paid attention to Isaac all year. Like he's fallen through the cracks again, just like every year of his life. Falling through the cracks. Not good enough. Not good enough for the A team. And Wayne, N.J. not good enough for this. Always falling through the cracks. And his unwavering confidence that God gave him, that he is playing from an identity he is not playing for. And I did. Christ is life, he said. He's in all things, right? And so. So he didn't get his picture in the paper and the stats were wrong. And. And here it is again as a dad, just feeling uptight and angry that here he is. Overlooked the greatest season. He's nine. [00:20:11] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:20:11] Speaker B: The school records ten. And, oh, and again, we're gonna lose the semifinal game. Story is going to be over. It wasn't the story. So he goes in the game, he wins the school record 10, 0. He's interviewed by two TV stations. He said, if you buy a newspaper and he comes out of the dugout, he's the last one to come out. He's crying. And now I'm crying of God's goodness and kindness. And he's looking at me, side eye, like, dad, are you watching me? Like, he comes out and we just embrace and he goes, dad, why are you crying? Dad, why are you crying? And I said, isaac, I love you and I'm so proud of you. And. And so then Sunday morning, man, I'm up at five. I'm so excited. We don't sleep, right? I'd even tell you the story about the. The flat tire and. And all the. All the stuff we endured the day before. Like, open up the paper. I open up the paper and there's the front page. [00:21:08] Speaker A: Amen. [00:21:08] Speaker B: A story just on Isaac records All heart for the Raiders. And then there's a picture, Isaac at the catcher about the. About the. He's. He's leaping a full 12 inches, right? There's the story. And it's like I'm just undone at God's goodness. And this is what I wanted to share, right? Nothing is wasted. No Failure or mistake, God, you make all things new, right? That. That you are so good. And all the pain and all the heartache and all the failure of the last six years is being restored and renewed right in front of me right now. That. That it's not in heaven someday. It's right now that you are healing our family. You are bringing us to a deeper trust into your amazing love. And as John went said, is what I imagine God saying to me here, this moment, Carl, it was prepared from before the world began. This life is hard, and it will get harder, but my extravagant love does not begin in heaven. I love you in the now. And I just said, jesus, you are our savior, Redeemer, you are a Lord, you are our king, you are our friend, and you are our life. Thank you for ice. To see you all over me and all over my family. And I'm sitting there weeping, thinking, God, this doesn't happen if I don't fail terribly and miserably. But my life wasn't over that there was still good things that God has for us to walk in. And so, Zach, man, that's. That's the story. That's the story of God. And so when I shared the story at the. At the. At the. At the passage of all the heart, one of my good buddies said, hey, what was. What was that about? What are all those tears about? Like. Like Isaac pitching great. And I said, no, it's about God. It's about his restoration of all things. It's about. It's about life. Christ is life. It's about God's unexpected kindness right to us. And again, God is good and he's kind even if we didn't win. Right? [00:23:11] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:23:11] Speaker B: And so, man, that's. That's the story I couldn't wait to share with you and of just leading my family in humility and just. Just humility attracts grace. Yeah. And so, man, Zach, thank. Thanks for listening, man. [00:23:27] Speaker A: Man, it's such a. Such an amazing story. And it's so funny. I have it sitting right here on my desk on my worst day. And how amazing is God that it is. It's. I just had a conversation. I ran. I was working with a guy, and he connected me to this. This lady that was working in the complex, and he was building me up and saying, hey, I'm getting you some clients. And so I go over and I have a conversation with her, and I'm just sharing with her Ephesians 1:17 and 18. And I get to the word in 18, the word hope. And I Said and hope is not something that you can. You look forward to and you hope for in the future. I said, it's a certainty of what you have right now in Christ. Live from that hope. And it was just. I could see it just change her entire just person. She just was like, I'm seeing something that I've never seen before. And it's such a. Such a joy to be able to share those kind of things with people and just allow the spirit. [00:24:35] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:24:36] Speaker A: To. To do those things. But on our worst day, because she was mentioning these things and these things, this list of things that are happening in my life, and it's like, yeah, it feels like your worst day, but in the midst of the pain, in the midst of all of it, God is. Is there and he's working. And it's so amazing. Even when I'm the one causing my worst day. [00:24:57] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah. [00:24:58] Speaker A: It's like he still loves me. [00:25:00] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:25:01] Speaker A: Such a. Such a picture. It's the true gospel. And It's. It's Romans 5 through 8. Like, just grips me. I read through it. Romans 5. Like, I started this whole thing off. It is much more. We have this abundance. [00:25:19] Speaker B: Yes. [00:25:19] Speaker A: We have this gift of righteousness and wife. And like we talked about about before, just receive. Receive that love. Receive what he's given you. [00:25:30] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:25:30] Speaker A: And trust that. So. And then just to finish, you finalize the whole thing with talking about. Basically it's the word trust. [00:25:42] Speaker B: Yes. [00:25:43] Speaker A: And this is how. And I love. So you talked about you just being humble and what that means. Humility in the way that true face. And that's partly John lynch himself. [00:25:54] Speaker B: Right. [00:25:55] Speaker A: True faith defines humility as trusting God and others. [00:26:00] Speaker B: That's right. Me. That's right. [00:26:03] Speaker A: And it's such a beautiful picture when we are able to just really just be real. This is who I am. This is my mistake. This is what I did. This is where. This is the mess that I. When we can be real in that way, take off that mask and be vulnerable. That humility really impacts other people because now I'm. I'm trusting. And I'm also being loved even on my worst day. [00:26:30] Speaker B: Right. [00:26:31] Speaker A: Even in the midst of my filth and my garbage, I actually found more love because I was loved from me, not for the mask I was wearing. And so. What a beautiful, beautiful picture. I'm so excited for Isaac, too. And just the journey. [00:26:48] Speaker B: Right. [00:26:49] Speaker A: That he's been on and man, how exciting. [00:26:53] Speaker B: Yeah. And the fruit of trust. All those years, not demanding that the coaches listen to us. Not demanding that they change how they coach, not demanding he gets playing time, just submitting and surrendering to a God who is in and over all things. [00:27:09] Speaker A: Right? [00:27:10] Speaker B: And. And that's. That's what's been so beautiful. J, J, I. By the way, I love that you brought up that failure part because J.I. packer and a really good book called Dead Sea Rules, he says that God redeems all follies, including the ones we do ourselves. I appreciate you saying that. [00:27:26] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:27:26] Speaker B: That repentance just puts us right back where God had us. And even something greater, right. Something even greater than we thought because what we think of as humans, well, God's done with me because we love to say, well, you're disqualified if you've sinned or if you've done something, you're done. You had your chance. So that was my mentality. I go, there's nothing good left, right? There's nothing good left. No, no, actually. Actually, you've just. You just began living, right? You just been living. Yeah. [00:28:00] Speaker A: So beautiful. Such a joy. Thank you for sharing and I, I love your heart. I love, like, I've got pictures here and there as, as he won championship games here and there. And of course, I didn't know everything that was even going on. And I just, I love how God is able to just grip hold of us and just show his love and just. Thank you for sharing like stories here on let's talk. So beautiful. Praise God.