"A Losing Season" - by Rev. Weldon Bares

Here is a good trivia question. Who is one of the few managers in major league baseball history to lead his team to the world championship in both the American League and the National League?

Sparky Anderson did this with the Cincinnati Reds in 1975 and 1976 in the National League. He also did it with the Detroit Tigers in the American League in 1984.

Certainly, Sparky was one of the greatest managers in baseball history. But five years after winning the World Series, the Tigers had a terrible season. In fact, they lost over a hundred games that year.

Sparky said he never imagined that he would coach such a losing team. In fact, the stress of losing was almost too much for him.

He later wrote in his autobiography: "If you think that you're destined never to fail, you better keep one eye open when you fall asleep at night. For my first 19 years as a manager I was blessed by so much good fortune, I thought maybe the devil had forgotten where I lived. In 1989, I found out that Sparky Anderson has to pay his dues, too."

The Apostle Peter wrote, “Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you.” (1 Peter 4:12)

Like it or not, failure is something that all of us will eventually experience. We sometimes face losing seasons. We don’t have to like it, but it is the truth.

But here is the good news of our faith. Win or lose, God will get us through it.