. . .the sound of God bowling a beautiful strike (we tell our kids the sound of thunder is God bowling to lessen the fear). A few claps of thunder followed and then the rain began to fall. No biggie, right? Well, under normal circumstances, no, but today was opening day for our local baseball league. The parade was to begin in about 3 hours, followed by a ceremony, games, a homerun derby and ending late afternoon with more games. Mother Nature must not have received the email about our big event.
Let me back up a bit. The weeks prior to opening day involves much prep work. Hauling in dirt for the fields, dragging the fields, painting bleachers, cleaning trash, pulling weeds, filling concession stand, cleaning out all buildings and bathrooms, etc. The list goes on and on. The work requires much time from volunteers. Exhaustion comes over each volunteer as the big day approaches. Not to mention the stress of the actual day and praying all goes as planned. Well, it didn't, at least from my perspective. . .
. . .I am a coach; therefore, must pull together a float for my team. From the day I volunteered as coach, I began concocting ideas for a float. I traced all the little hands of my team on two poster boards and the name of our team. I also created individual signs of our mascot with the child's name under it for them to hold during the parade. As I began coloring the hands and team name on our poster boards, problems occurred. My Sharpie ran out, I put a few names upside-down and the image was not what I envisioned. Meanwhile, life around me continued to happen. By the time Saturday came, I just wanted to get it over with.
So, back to Saturday morning. My husband went ahead to the field to finish up last minute requirements and keep watch on the radar. The rain slowed down, yet left indication of more to come. Back at home, my little ones arose excited about the morning, while their mother continued to grumble and complain under her breath. They dressed in uniform, ate a breakfast of champions and began playing to pass the time. I ran around like a chicken with my head cut off making sure all was done. The time came to leave and the rain subsided enough for the parade to occur.
We got to the start site and overloaded our hands with float material, camera, phone, drinks, keys, etc. I found our float and began assembly. I struggled to get the signs placed just right and frustration, exhaustion and defeat consumed my thoughts. I was done and the parade had not even begun. During the parade, the signs blew everywhere. I tried my hardest to hold both down and keep them on the correct side so all could see our names. I also worried about the children moving too close to the tailgate. We made it safe and sound through the parade and ventured onto the field for the ceremony. Our game followed and in the first inning big raindrops began falling on our head. We waited it out and then continued as soon as it let up. Two innings (time limit) later, it was over. Coaching four year olds is fun but chaotic. This coach, mother, float coordinator, housekeeper and wife was exhausted.
So, the day went nothing as planned, Mother Nature did not cooperate and my attitude stunk! I reached to God for help. Why did my attitude focus on the negative? Why do I get frustrated at situations out of my control? I prayed for all this stress, sadness, exhaustion and anger to go away. Amidst all these words I spewed out, God spoken softly to my heart. He reminded me of seven small words spoken by my daughter; "Mommy, I had so much fun today!" He brought to my mind all the smiles, laughter and proud moments of my players. He pointed out the joy an eight year old experienced as my assistant coach. He mentioned all the children lined up on the field to enjoy the ceremony, be honored for participating and dressed in uniform. He brought all the joys of baseball to the forefront of my mind. I had buried it all under the consuming work and constant busyness of the weeks leading to opening day. Wow, did I have it all wrong!
None of that stuff matters!
It is not about me! It is not about what went wrong in my life or the busy schedule I experienced. It is not about the memories I made of the day. It is about the children. It is about building them up to have a passion, gaining confidence in themselves, enjoying life, making memories and finding love in the great game of baseball! My children had a great day, will talk about this for years to come and seen no wrong in the day. This coach, mother, float coordinator, housekeeper and wife needs to get over herself and reduce all these titles to one - God's servant. Once I become His servant completely, then I see the day through His eyes. I am there for Him, not Sheree. He is in control and MY plan matters nothing. With Him leading, my attitude will change quickly. I will be able to shine His light onto these children and enjoy as they enjoy. God, thank you for another day. Thank You for this much needed lesson. Thank You for listening and forgiving me for the negative attitude and wrong thoughts. Help me to carry this lesson with me always and throughout the seasons to come. Give me strength to complete all necessary tasks with a smile, not resentment or frustration. Guide me as I lead these children through the season, so I may shine Your light and encourage them with every practice and game. Thank You for this opportunity and trusting me to be Your servant in an area I absolutely love - baseball!
Keep praying harder than the devil can work.
Sheree Craig
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