We were driving to my 7-year-old son’s baseball practice the other day and a few rain drops started to hit the windshield. JB was not happy because he wanted to practice. He has loved baseball from the day he first was big enough to swing a plastic bat. My wife said not to worry as she drove and I put it in fatherly perspective by quietly saying “sometimes it rains.”
It is so true that things don’t always work out the way we would like.Sometimes we go up to bat, get a pitch right down the middle and swing and miss.Other times we find ourselves swinging at pitches in the dirt or way over our heads. It’s even harder when you take a bad pitch and the ump calls it a strike any way. Three strikes and you’re out. But the baseball season is long and there will be many more at bats.
Coach Sammy, JB’s baseball coach, is as dedicated as they come and knows his stuff. He won’t let a few rain drops here and there get in the way of needed practice time, working on fundamental drills.JB loves to learn and he is a real sponge. He couldn’t wait to practice and didn’t care about getting a little wet. The coach ignored the raindrops and kept the team focused.When the two-hour practice was over, my son and another boy stayed with coach to get some extra pitching work in. It was still raining.
The next day, JB’s team played under the threat of rain.He couldn’t wait to play.The team was focused, well prepared and enthusiastic. JB caught for five innings, got a hit and struck out a few batters as he pitched to end the tie game. Win or lose or tie, I love how he loves to play the game.
Rain is needed to make the plants grow. We often experience a lot of rainy days and times in our lives.Things happen like a broken bone, a wounded knee, surgery, work or family stress.When the sun comes out in our lives -and it will -we grow stronger from it. Sometimes it rains, but we can still keep swinging.
