Something happened the other night that I thought I would share. My son, G, is 6 years old and he is currently playing Little League Baseball. In our small town, this league is pretty serious about this sport. It isn't as bad as some of the news stories where parents and umpires are fighting on the field, but a MOM did get ejected from the ball field the other day for screaming at the official! Her son's team was getting beat...pretty badly at the time. It was not even a close call, but she felt the need to embarrass her entire team and their fans by asking the umpire how much money we were paying him. Something you should know is that the school that my children attend is the same private school that I graduated from. I love our school, but many of the public schools in our area do not. Every opposing team we ever played used the "How much did you pay the refs?" joke. They think that because we pay money for our school, we must pay the refs/umpires too. It has actually become pretty funny over the years. However, this was the first time that my children have had to hear this kind of heckling. The kids on the field just froze and stared at this woman as she stood up against the fence and yelled. The umpire handled the situation very calmly and asked her to leave the area. It was a shocking situation to say the least. It did however, give me an opportunity to talk to G about that kind of behavior and why we should not act this way. I also have to say that this is the only team that we have played where we have had a problem like this. The others, whether they have beat us or have been beaten, have been very respectful and enjoyable to play.
A few days later and earlier this week, G had another game. This game was much different. We were winning and G was getting up to bat. He has turned into a pretty good baseball player this year. He has made some great plays in the field and he has hit the ball fairly well. His strength is his speed. He is a fast kid. He can hit the ball OK, but then make it to second or third only because he can outrun most of the players. One funny story (from a previous game) is when he hit the ball, the other team scooped it up and threw it to first. The first baseman missed it, but picked it up just in time to see G pass first base. He begins to chase G to second, third, and then all the way to home plate. He didn't want to throw it because they are still not great at catching, but he thought he could just catch G with the ball in his hand. The best visual image I have of this is G running as fast as he could turning to see if they were catching up to him. The coaches were yelling for him to stop the whole time, it was hilarious. But, he made it...and G called it a home run!
Anyway, back to this week's game. G struck out every time he got up to bat. I don't know what he was doing wrong. He would have a great practice swing, but when it came time to hit the ball, he missed. It was heart wrenching to watch. He would hang his head a have to run back to the dugout feeling completely defeated. I hated watching this. M (my husband) is a coach and he did a great job keeping his spirits up and encouraging him for the next time. I cannot help but make the connection back to the way that the Lord looks at us. We practice, we do a good job, swinging confidently and swinging straight, but when it is game time how do we perform? Do we miss the ball? No matter how hard we try, do we actually succeed? It is a lot easier to communicate the love of Christ to someone than hit a baseball (at least for me-I am terrible at baseball). But, it is still a difficult task. And, guess what...I still love Griffin. Actually, I love him more than I did the day before. He tried. And that is the point. I know that God loves us no matter what, but I think he loves us a little more each time he sees us TRY to glorify him. And I know it grieves him when we grieve. Just like I did when G hung his head and teared up after striking out a third time.
I had a great conversation when G was going to bed that night. We prayed and I told him that the day was over, and the next day was a whole new one. Forget about it and move on. We are studying Philippians in my Bible study and Paul writes, "No, dear brothers and sisters, I am still not all I should be, but I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead. I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us up to heaven." Phil 3:13-14 So, let's pray the G knows this when he gets up to bat tomorrow night. Look ahead to the future...no worries about yesterday.
It is so amazing to me that I am blessed to have these children. God has given me a glimpse of what it looks like to look at us. You are on their team and you want them to succeed. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't. But still, the love grows daily.
Thank you for sweet G, Lord. He is a wonderful boy who loves you. Please help him to always keep his eyes on the prize and to not look to the past, but look forward to what lies ahead. I pray that I can be the best mommy that I can to G. Help me to know when to be tough and when to be soft on him...I can only do this with your help, Lord. Thank you for this privilege. Amen.
A few days later and earlier this week, G had another game. This game was much different. We were winning and G was getting up to bat. He has turned into a pretty good baseball player this year. He has made some great plays in the field and he has hit the ball fairly well. His strength is his speed. He is a fast kid. He can hit the ball OK, but then make it to second or third only because he can outrun most of the players. One funny story (from a previous game) is when he hit the ball, the other team scooped it up and threw it to first. The first baseman missed it, but picked it up just in time to see G pass first base. He begins to chase G to second, third, and then all the way to home plate. He didn't want to throw it because they are still not great at catching, but he thought he could just catch G with the ball in his hand. The best visual image I have of this is G running as fast as he could turning to see if they were catching up to him. The coaches were yelling for him to stop the whole time, it was hilarious. But, he made it...and G called it a home run!
Anyway, back to this week's game. G struck out every time he got up to bat. I don't know what he was doing wrong. He would have a great practice swing, but when it came time to hit the ball, he missed. It was heart wrenching to watch. He would hang his head a have to run back to the dugout feeling completely defeated. I hated watching this. M (my husband) is a coach and he did a great job keeping his spirits up and encouraging him for the next time. I cannot help but make the connection back to the way that the Lord looks at us. We practice, we do a good job, swinging confidently and swinging straight, but when it is game time how do we perform? Do we miss the ball? No matter how hard we try, do we actually succeed? It is a lot easier to communicate the love of Christ to someone than hit a baseball (at least for me-I am terrible at baseball). But, it is still a difficult task. And, guess what...I still love Griffin. Actually, I love him more than I did the day before. He tried. And that is the point. I know that God loves us no matter what, but I think he loves us a little more each time he sees us TRY to glorify him. And I know it grieves him when we grieve. Just like I did when G hung his head and teared up after striking out a third time.
I had a great conversation when G was going to bed that night. We prayed and I told him that the day was over, and the next day was a whole new one. Forget about it and move on. We are studying Philippians in my Bible study and Paul writes, "No, dear brothers and sisters, I am still not all I should be, but I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead. I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us up to heaven." Phil 3:13-14 So, let's pray the G knows this when he gets up to bat tomorrow night. Look ahead to the future...no worries about yesterday.
It is so amazing to me that I am blessed to have these children. God has given me a glimpse of what it looks like to look at us. You are on their team and you want them to succeed. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't. But still, the love grows daily.
Thank you for sweet G, Lord. He is a wonderful boy who loves you. Please help him to always keep his eyes on the prize and to not look to the past, but look forward to what lies ahead. I pray that I can be the best mommy that I can to G. Help me to know when to be tough and when to be soft on him...I can only do this with your help, Lord. Thank you for this privilege. Amen.
