Sterling & Baseball!

Sterling and I took the girls, my Mom, and my niece to the mall on Saturday to eat lunch and play on the indoor playground. Sterling noticed a poster advertising the New York Blood Drive that day in the mall. Was it the words Blood Drive that caught his eye? No. The opportunity to possibly save someones life? Not so much. It was the words at the bottom of the poster that drew him in......2 FREE METS TICKETS with blood donation!
You know Sterling is truly a baseball fan, when he gives blood in exchange for tickets to a game.
Sterling hates needles....blood....and anything in between. I remember when we were first married and he had to get a finger prick. He flew back against the wall when the nurse came near him.....and nearly passed out afterwards. It was pretty funny actually :). When he told me he was going to give blood, I said "yeah, right", under my breath. What was I thinking, free baseball tickets were up for grabs, of course he was going to give blood.
It got me thinking this weekend. We will do just about anything, even face a major fear, for something we truly want or love. I want to be that way about my walk with the Lord. Willing to face any fear, at any cost, to follow God with everything in me. I am a fearful person. Always have been. I am better than I used to be (pre-Sterling I call it). He has helped me to fear less and trust more. Still, it is hard for me. I have crazy fears that get in my way of completely surrendering each day to God. Fears that become death gripping strongholds. I have to consciously make an effort to not fear. It most definitely does not come naturally for me.
But, I so want it to. And I know that I know that I know GOD can rid me of all my fears. I want to have such a passion for God, that I am willing to do anything, at any cost, to die to myself, to follow Him.
Sterling did good giving blood. He actually got more attention from the nurses than any other donor there. One donor said to the nurse, "What did he do?, because I want to be him." The nurses liked him so much, because he took the time to reach out to them while giving blood, that he got the royal treatment. Sterling has such a way with people. I ended up giving blood as well, so Sterling could have 4 tickets. It will be great for Sterling to be able to take 3 people with him, that he can get to know better. That is what it is all about after all.....and a baseball game is a great place for just that! The game is in April. Pray that Sterling would know just the right people to invite.