At a fundraising dinner for
a school that serves learning-disabled children, the father of one of the
school's students delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all who
attended.
After extolling the school and its dedicated staff, he offered a question.
"Everything God does is done with perfection. Yet, my son, Shay, cannot
learn things as other children do. He cannot understand things as other
children do. Where is God's plan reflected in my son?"
The audience was stilled by the query. The father continued. "I
believe," the father answered, "that when God brings a child like
Shay into the world, an opportunity to realize the Divine Plan presents
itself. And it comes in the way people treat that child."
Then, he told the following story: Shay and his father had walked past a
park where some boys Shay knew were playing baseball. Shay asked, "Do
you think they will let me play?"
Shay's father knew that most boys would not want him on their team. But the
father understood that if his son were allowed to play it would give him a
much-needed sense of belonging. Shay's father approached one of the boys on
the field and asked if Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance
from his teammates. Getting none, he took matters into his own hands and
said, "We are losing by six runs, and the game is in the eighth inning.
I guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him up to bat in the ninth
inning."
In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was
still behind by three. At the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove
and played in the outfield. Although no hits came his way, he was obviously
ecstatic just to be on the field, grinning from ear to ear as his father
waved to him from the stands.
In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shay's team scored again. Now, with two
outs and the bases loaded, the potential winning run was on base. Shay was
scheduled to be the next at-bat. Would the team actually let Shay bat at this
juncture and give away their chance to win the game?
Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat. Everyone knew that a hit was all but
impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly, much
less connect with the ball.
However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher moved a few steps to
lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least be able to make contact. The
first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed.
The pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly toward
Shay. As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball
to the pitcher. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could easily have
thrown the ball to the first baseman. Shay would have been out and that would
have ended the game.
Instead, the pitcher took the ball and threw it on a high arc to right
field, far beyond reach of the first baseman.
Everyone started yelling, "Shay, run to first. Run to first."
Never in his life had Shay ever made it to first base. He scampered down the
baseline, wide-eyed and startled. Everyone yelled, "Run to second, run
to second!"
By the time Shay was rounding first base, the right fielder had the ball.
He could have thrown the ball to the second baseman for a tag. But the right
fielder understood what the pitcher's intentions had been, so he threw the
ball high and far over the third baseman's head. Shay ran towards second base
as the runners ahead of him deliriously circled the bases towards home.
As Shay reached second base, the opposing shortstop ran to him, turned him
in the direction of third base, and shouted, "Run to third!" As
Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams were screaming, "Shay! Run
home!"
Shay ran home, stepped on home plate and was cheered as the hero, for
hitting a "grand slam" and winning the game for his team.
"That day," said the father softly with tears now rolling down
his face, the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of the Divine Plan
into this world."
And now, a footnote to the
story. We all send thousands of jokes through e-mail without a second
thought, but when it comes to sending messages regarding life choices, people
think twice about sharing. The crude, vulgar, and sometimes the obscene pass
freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of decency is too often
suppressed in school and the workplace.
If you are thinking about forwarding this message, you are probably
thinking about which people on your address list aren't the
"appropriate" ones to receive this type of message.
The person who sent this to you believes that we can all make a difference.
We all have thousands of opportunities a day to help realize God's plan. So
many seemingly trivial interactions between two people present us with a
choice: Do we pass along a spark of the Divine? Or do we pass up that
opportunity, and leave the world a bit colder in the process?
I received this via e-mail with no author. It touched my heart and I
wanted to share it with others. If you would like for me to e-mail you this
story, please click
here. Make sure and asked for the “Touching
Story”. If you would like to
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Michael Bancale
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