Lawrence Peter Berra, nicknamed Yogi Berra, was a great baseball player inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and the one who coined the phrase “It ain’t over till it’s over.” When his team, the New York Yankees, were doing poorly and not expected to win the division title, a reporter asked him about the very real possibility of losing. Berra’s reply “it ain’t over till it’s over” was prophetic. The Yankees made a remarkable comeback and won the division title.
When Yogi Berra made his positive statement, the odds of winning were not in his favor. However, he had insight from many years of playing baseball and so what seemed like certain defeat was to him an opportunity to imagine a comeback. Yogi Berra’s remarkable and inspiring life story is filled with many tales of “guts and glory.” In his journey as a player and coach, he never gave up imagining being a winner, no matter how far ahead the other team was.
His life story should inspire all of us to pursue our dreams with confidence and belief in our success. Imagination is one of the greatest mental gifts we have. Every day you should imagine yourself full of joy and peace no matter what obstacles you come across. Keep a positive outlook on life and this will inspire you to envision a winning career in your field of interest or occupation.
Some avenues in life are not always direct. Sometimes we have to make an abrupt decision to go another way and we hope that we’ve made the right decision. That’s a good time to remember Yogi Berra’s words “it ain’t over till it’s over.” Those words bring to light another quote I read. “Second chances are not given to make things right. But are given to prove that we could be better even after we fall.”
Aren’t you glad that God is a mender and not a discarder? With him, broken lives don’t have to be the end of the story. He’s often been called the God of the second chance. But how shortsighted is this? If we got only two chances, we would all be hopelessly defeated. Instead we are given chance after chance after chance. He is a God of unlimited grace. As long as you humbly acknowledge your failure and desire to start again, he will enable you. So, imagine your comeback because “it ain’t over till it’s over.” Never Give Up! Never Give Up! Never Give Up!
By Chaplain Ghosten
chaplain@lhp.net
