Angels in the Batter's Box

If you think God doesn't care about the little things we care about, you're wrong. If you think God isn't in sports, you're wrong again. God can use ANY avenue He wants to show us His goodness and power and He can use absolutely ANYTHING for His glory.

If you guessed that this is a story about baseball, you're right. If you guessed this is a story about a little boy who couldn't hit, you're right. If you guessed this story has a happy ending where God did something awesome, you're right again. This IS a story about a little boy who struggled with batting, but in the end, because we prayed and believed, did something so awesome, all because Jesus decided to answer prayers and do something big that day.

It all began about three weeks ago. Our oldest son Caleb, was picked to try out for the Farm League All Star baseball team (Farm League is one step below Little League. The team is made up of kids kindergarten through second grade). We didn't know there was an All Star team so when he got nominated, we were so proud! We were also a little nervous. Caleb's batting wasn't the best. You see, Caleb's small for his age, he always has been. At eight years old, he weighs as much as his five your old brother. He's just a small, skinny guy. Unfortunately that means his upper body strength is not where it should be for boys his age. That means hitting is tough for him. He also had been practicing hitting with a Nerf ball and a pool noodle, which caused him to develop some weird habits. All of a sudden, he was trying to golf with his baseball bat.

Knowing this, we spent the days leading up to tryouts at the batting cages. I took Caleb a few times to try and fix his swing while hoping to boost his confidence at the plate. I think it worked because on the day of his try out he hit the ball so well! I was really impressed! His bat looked stronger than I had ever seen and his swing was level. Minus taking a pop fly to the face (yes, it was ugly), his fielding looked excellent and so did his batting. We were sure he made the team.

Fast forward a few hours and we got the call that Caleb did NOT make the All Star team. I was crushed. We asked what went wrong and they told us that his batting just wasn't strong enough or consistent throughout the season (which was true). My heart broke. How in the world was I going to tell my son, my heart, my whole world, that he didn't make it? I dreaded the following morning when I would have to tell him the news. I barely slept that night.

The next morning, my husband and I got up and went to tell our son he didn't make it. I made my husband deliver the news as I could not speak due to the lump in my throat and the tears welling up in my eyes. Our sweet little boy was crushed, and while he didn't completely cry, we saw the tears in his eyes when he buried his head in my chest. Oh Lord Jesus why?! I didn't understand any of it! We had prayed and believed. There was no lack of faith here! I couldn't wrap my mind around it. I was so upset. The worst feeling in the world is when your child is hurt or upset and there's nothing you can do to make it better.

I sent my son off to school that day and prayed he'd be distracted enough not to think about the results of his tryout. When he got home, we went swimming in my in laws pool hoping to keep him distracted most of the day. He was definitely distracted, but when it came time for bed, his eyes filled up again. I knew the calm would be a factor, so we prayed and he seemed to feel better.

It was a rough few days, but we made it through. By the end of the week Caleb's team had made it to the championship so that lifted his spirits. His team had made it to the championship last year, but lost. This year looked more promising so we were hoping for a big win. We were bummed when it got cancelled due to rain and pushed back another couple days. We were really itching for a trophy this year!

Fast forward to Friday and we prayed so hard for Caleb's team to win. If this poor kid couldn't make the All Star team, then we were SERIOUSLY praying for a championship win and a trophy! I spent the afternoon praying, A LOT! I kept listening to those two old songs, What A Mighty God We Serve and I Will Celebrate over and over while on the treadmill and I just felt like something big was going to happen at the game. Was Caleb going to crush one over the fence? Was he going to make great plays in the field? I didn't know, but I knew we'd have something to celebrate that night after the game.

I was so nervous when we got to the field. Literally shaking and nauseous. "Oh God, please don't let him strike out. Please let him hit the ball," was all I could think over and over, along with, "just connect, just connect." The game began and both teams looked good. We had ten runned this team before so I kind of expected to do it again. Except we weren't. At all. The innings were going fast. One. Two. Three. Just like that pretty much. Over and Over.

Then all of a sudden the other team over ran third base. Twice. Such a weird thing to do, yet it happened twice. In a row. Had those players not overrun third base, they would have scored, but they never got the chance to cross home plate. It was weird and very out of character.

The fifth inning rolled around. I had spent the game chatting away, keeping one eye on the game and one eye on the conversation. I was happy to be somewhat distracted, but I was concerned. We weren't ten running this team. In fact, the game was close, but I wasn't sure how close, so I motioned to John who was coaching first base. Going into the bottom of the fifth inning (our team was up to bat), I mouthed to John. I asked him the score and he held up one finger on each hand indicating it was 1-1. I held up my hands to say, "what in the world is going on?!" And he looked down and shook his head.

Ugh, things were not looking good and both of us were worried. Would we lose two years in a row to the same team? Oh God, please! Our top batters were up to bat which was good, but our first batter popped out. It was so uncharacteristic for him. We needed to move on. There were still two outs left so we were still OK. The next batter gets up and hits a double, but being Little League, the coaches pushed him to go to third knowing no eight year old was making the throw from right field to third base. Our second batter was safe on third. Our fourth batter gets up. Our strongest hitter. For sure he would get a hit and our guy on third would run home to make the game 2-1. Except our fourth batter uncharacteristically struck out. He swung for the fences and simply missed the ball altogether. Bottom of the fifth, 1-1, runner on third, two outs.

At this point, things were looking grim. The opposing team had the top of their line up coming up in the top of the last inning which was not good for us. We needed to take the lead here. As God would have it, our little Caleb was up to bat with two outs left. I began praying like I've never prayed before. I could have passed out from praying so hard (is that even possible lol). Our guy on third told Caleb to hit him home. I have no idea what was going on in Caleb's mind, but he had to be nervous. Not having a strong bat with so much pressure would make anyone's palms sweat.

First pitch he watched go by. I wiped the sweat off my brow. Oh Lord, please don't let him strike out. Second pitch gets ready and is released. Caleb swung. He hit a line drive right over second base into the outfield. The runner on third ran home. Caleb stopped at first. The crowd went crazy! One mom was standing behind me who rarely says a thing. literally the quietest lady, was yelling at the top of her lungs. I had to do a double take. The score: 2-1. Our next batter came up to bat. Three pitches and he struck out. Now it was top of the sixth with the opposing team's top batters up.

We just had to hold them. Just hold them. Three outs and we would get the trophy this year. First batter gets up and hits a line drive back to the pitcher. First out. Second batter gets up and strikes out. Out number two. One more out and the trophy was ours. Third batter gets up and hits a blooper to the second baseman. He runs at the ball, grabs it and tosses it to the first baseman. Out number 3.

Game Over.

We won the game. The kids went nuts! Beating the team that beat us the year prior was so sweet. Getting that trophy was sweet too. It was such a great game and such a great night.

The best part? Caleb's coach, the very coach who, when asked after the very first game who got the game ball responded that he didn't believe in game balls, gave Caleb the game ball for batting in the game winning RBI in the championship. And the irony. The kid who didn't make the All Star team because of his poor batting, somehow managed to bat in the game winning RBI to win the championship game. I smile as I type because only God could do something so perfect, so amazing.

This is just a perfect reminder of awesome our God is, even caring about the smallest, silly things like a Little League baseball game.

It's Simple but Amazing

I'll forget that time when the kids were little. A relatively new family of five living on one income in a state with the highest taxes. Everything was expensive. Everything. We pinched pennies everywhere, we still do. Yet we barely made it every month. There was maybe a few extra dollars left over every month, and it usually went to food. There was never extra money left over for meals out or visits to fun places.

I remember driving past Storybook Land so many times during that time. In awe of all the lights, the rides, the Christmas decorations, and all the chatter among families walking in, I desperately wanted to take the kids. However, SBL was SO expensive and we just couldn't afford it. Food was so costly, as was our new bigger car, our house, student loan payments, etc, etc. So much money going out to pay bills and just barely enough coming in. I longed to take my kids to experience Storybook Land at Christmas time, but we really couldn't afford it.

I told God my desires, although I knew He already knew. I knew it wouldn't be the end of the world if we didn't take the kids, but I really wanted to. Then, it happened. About two weeks later after driving passed one day and longing to go, someone gifted us four tickets to Storybook Land, just enough for our family since our baby was still a baby and would be free. A week later we entered Storybook Land with the kids and it was as magical as I imagined.

It's things like this that remind me of the higher power working in our favor. It's things like this that remind me God cares about the little things we care about. It's things like this that remind me of how much He cares about us, the same way I care about my kids and want to give them the world.

It's a simple, but amazing reminder that there is a God up there looking out for us very perfectly orchestrating the strings of our lives.