Time Lends Perspective on Pujols' Departure

Do you remember?  Emotions in Cardinal Nation ran the gamut from shock to anger to crushing disappointment.  How could Albert Pujols leave the best baseball city in America, the city that so embraced him?  How could the Cardinals allow the “next Stan Musial” to slip through their fingers?  I, for one, was utterly confused.  Who should I be mad at, Albert or the Cardinals?

But that was almost two years ago.  Time and circumstances have altered my perspective. Since Albert’s departure the Cardinals made it to the National League Championship Series last year and have carried the best record in baseball much of this season.  I’ve established an emotional distance with Albert—not bitterness, just distance.  With months to reflect and move on, most understand the Cardinals are better off having the ability to spread the wealth in procuring a variety of talent.  From a pure team-performance perspective, Albert’s departure, so troubling at the time, seems to have been a benefit.  I feel almost silly for the rampant emotions that so gripped me back then.  Oh, the healing power of time and perspective. 

This sports lesson might be worth remembering on the “real” side of life.  Our journey through life is peppered with twisted turns, relational losses and unthinkably bitter disappointments.  When in the throes of such trauma we will likely be overwhelmed by anguished emotions and confusion.  But we need to realize such feelings will pass.  “Weeping may last for the night but joy comes in the morning” (Psalm 30:5).

When in painful situations, it’s important to maintain a sense of hope that, if we allow him, God can produce beneficial effects even when it seems impossible.  According to the Bible, God’s will is not the only one at work in the universe.  Much happens that is not God’s intention.  Consequently our lives can sometimes feel like a pointless mess of tangled threads.  

Yet we never know what the Divine Weaver, in his love and providence, can do in us through the most painful, seemingly chaotic circumstances.  There are lessons to be learned and humility, faith and character to be developed.  Could it be, if we learn to cooperate with the master artisan of our soul, he can create in our inner person a work of depth and beauty even through the most agonizing experiences of life?   

The New Testament brazenly assures, “…all things work together for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).  When in the midst of trying circumstances such a promise is hard—hard—to believe.  Yet for those willing to humbly process their pain and disappointments in the presence of God, such a hope is profoundly stabilizing, constituting “an anchor of the soul” (Hebrews 6:19).  

Back on the lighter, sports side of life, although I now see the benefit of Albert’s departure, there’s still a slightly aching, tender spot when I think about his years with the Cardinals.  I feel a sad sense of loss over what might have been.  Cardinal forever.  Statue like Musial’s. 

They say time heals all wounds.  I’m not sure that’s always the case.  But in the more serious afflictions of life I do know God’s love, comfort and guidance go a very long way. 

And as to solace for the loss of Albert, another Cardinals World Series Championship might also be a help.