There he sat...

There were more than a few surprises at my youngest son's first baseball game a couple of weeks ago. The first was that they played at all. Springtime in Rochester does not necessarily mean temperatures in the 50's or even 40's. It was sunny for sure and the temps at the beginning of the game were in the 30's. Thank God that his uniform shirt was big enough for him to put his jacket under. That made a bunch of difference I am sure. The second big surprise was that the coaches put him at first base and kept him there the whole game. He is not a super-strong ball catcher at this point, but subsequent events in the game would prove the coaches' wisdom in this regard. Another surprise was that they let me coach third. Yeah, I guess I knew what I was doing.

He had a great first game ever. He caught a fly ball off of an opponent's bat and turned a double play by throwing the runner out at third. He also went 1 for 3 at the plate. He had a solid hit and beat the throw to first base. He then stuck out twice, but at least he went down swinging rather than looking at the pitches he should have been taking cuts at.

Most impressive was his attitude on the field and, especially, on the bench. He was practically the only one not messing around on the bench when his team was up to bat and was constantly shouting out encouraging words to his teammates. He also mostly paid attention in the field and was an attentive first baseman. He was in position more times than not to make the plays that he was expected to make.

The biggest surprise to me came when one of our coaches, in the middle of the game, turned to me and shook my hand telling me how impressed and proud he was of my son. I was shocked and didn't exactly know what to say, but I mumbled something or other to him. That meant the world to me and I was so thankful to God that He saw it fit to produce something in my son that makes him stand out from the crowd. It turns out that this coach wants his son and mine to hang out together. My son is excited about that prospect.

Dad, you're full of surprises aren't You? Should I be surprised at all knowing how excellent You are? I guess I can't help it. I am a man after all and only that. How could I anticipate, let alone expect, Your work that produces Christ-likeness? Especially in the ones You have given me charge over.