More Than a Game…..

There are times in life when you can look back and see God at work, moving pieces and lining things up. Those times when things fall together perfectly……WOW! Both my boys have played ball since they were young, its what you do in our small community. In those young days of park ball and later Travel ball I never knew this is where our family bond would be formed, where the best moments between me and my sons would be spent. My oldest son has had a dream since he was 9 years old to play college baseball, he has worked harder than anyone can imagine. There are nights he has trained till midnight after leaving a full team practice. I am in awe of the man he has grown into and still cant believe he is living his dream as we are about to go into his second year of college and his second year of college baseball. His little brother is following in his foot steps working towards a dream of playing college ball too.

It didn’t come easy…. none of it did, but God always made a way and surrounded the boys and myself with people who helped us reach places we couldn’t have on our own. About the time my oldest son got the opportunity to play travel ball was also the beginning of the hardest 7 years of our lives. Up until that point we had it pretty good, new house, nice cars, the boys never wanted for anything, always had the newest bats, gloves you name it. All that changed over night it seemed, the boys dad had put himself in a rehab program and revealed that we were in more financial trouble than I could ever imagine. We lost our house and the life we had grown accustom to. We were forced to leave our 3/2 dream home with the yard the boys had learned to play ball in and put 90% of our belongings in a storage shed, and move into a single wide trailer where my boys slept together on a pull out couch. From there life inside those four walls would go down hill, hit rock bottom then bust through that bedrock to a whole new level of hell. As so much was falling apart, we always had one thing to look forward to……and that was the weekend baseball trips. My boys have been able to travel and play ball for the past 10 years only because God has provided them the way and put awesome people in our lives that have made it possible because I didn’t and couldn’t have done it on my own. There are so many times we have packed Ramen noodles and Spaghetti-O’s to eat while at tournaments, and many summers it wasn’t an option to eat out or at the concession stand but not doing this thing called baseball, no matter the sacrifice was never an option. Even with the tremendous amount of help I have had making weekend after weekend possible, there still has been those times I was about to call the coach up to say we couldn’t make it and make up some excuse {besides the reason we just didn’t have the money} and God would send us someone that would make the weekend possible. I think alot of my drive to make sure the boys had every opportunity possible is because I was never given a chance to succeed and follow my dreams of playing at the next level, I was the kid that would take the field or court and had no one in the stands cheering me on, I was told by those inside my house that I was wasting my time and that they surely wasn’t wasting their time and money on me playing ball. It was important to me that my boys always knew whatever was important to them, was important to me and I would do everything in my power to provide them with what they needed to succeed and not have what-ifs in their lives. In the past 10 years we may not have got to eat out a lot, or stay at the top notch hotels, may not have the newest bats and gloves, but I do know my boys appreciate and are thankful for what they have and the opportunities they have been given and they make the most of everything they have. They know how much this game has given them on and off the field and I think its why they love it so much.

I say all that just as a back story to let you know that these weekends of baseball have sometimes been the hardest thing we have ever done, it hasn’t always been everything shiny and pretty. It has been real sacrifice and work at times and It has been worth it all, because what we have gained as a family is so much more than anything accomplished on that baseball field. Yes I have one playing college baseball and another carving out his path to do the same and I cant express the thankfulness I feel for that. I also cant help but look back and see the way God put every piece, ordered every step of the way to where we are today. Today as I sit in a hotel room with my youngest son after a great day on the mound, watching a Finals game in a 67 degree room, laughing and talking , I know today that theses are the unrecognized moments that are the whole purpose God has made this baseball thing possible for my boys. There are highlights on the field everywhere we have played but the real highlights have always been off the field. When we reminisce about the past ten years we always talk about the journey to the games, the best parts are in the car and hotel rooms and then we get to the all that happened on the diamond. I have always known there was more to this game and have seen it more than once over the years but the past few months God has shown me moment after moment that I cherish more deeply than I can express in words and has given me a peace that even if others don’t understand why we spend our summers doing this baseball thing, it doesn’t matter because my boys and I have gained the one thing I have always wanted for us……because of baseball we are a family, and we know each other in ways we may not if it weren’t for this game, we support each other and we have spent time together that has given us a bond that will last a lifetime. We love baseball but because of baseball we love each other in a way you don’t understand unless you have been there. It isn’t what happens from the first pitch to the last of a game, that’s not where the important stuff happens. It’s the journey to and from the field that makes the player, getting to step on to that diamond….. that’s just icing on the sweetest cake you will ever eat. Getting to sit in those bleachers and watch it all unfold, seeing a man where a boy once stood, seeing the smile as they run off the field between innings, wiping the tears when it seems to fall apart, the full recap of the game in the car (pitch by pitch)….. I will gladly walk through the fires of hell twice, in a gasoline bodysuit to be apart of these glorious moments that bring so much joy to my life allowing me to be something to my boys that I never had growing up. Allowing me to watch my boys grow into men living a dream!

Because of baseball…..we have known love

Because of baseball….we have known joy

Because of baseball….we have known family

Because of baseball….we have known success

Because of baseball ….we have known failure

Because of baseball….we have grown closer to each other

Because of baseball….we have a bond like no other

Because of baseball….we have seen God work in awesome ways

Because of baseball….we have seen what faith brings you

Because of baseball…we have learned the benefits of hard work and dedication

Because of baseball…we have seen the hands and feet of Christ at work

Because of baseball…we have a journey that has shaped us into the family we are

Because of baseball…we have memories to last a lifetime

Because of baseball…we have become a family that has grown closer to God, trust God and have had the chance to share God with others

Because of baseball…I have got to be Devne and Colins mom, if your a parent of an athlete you know what I mean by that…..that one right there….. #1 …..he is my son

God gave us baseball and I am so thankful He did, because along with it He gave us so much more!!!!!!!

So before you look down on that family that lives at the ballpark and make your list of all the other things they could be doing with their time and money, please remember that although you may not understand what they get out of it and at the moment they may not either, one day when its all said and done the best times and lessons will be in the journey they are taking. So don’t focus on the destination whether it be a baseball field, a lake, or where ever, focus on the journey it took to get there and the moments that come with it……that’s what its all about and that’s why you are there…..getting to play the game…now that’s all gravy!!!

Pay attention to the journey, that’s where the beauty lies, not in the destination!!!!!