July 29 – “Fire fighter family”

Yesterday the weekend of fire fighter charity benefits to help the Anderson family with medical bills after the premature birth of their baby girl Haisley concluded with an all-day softball tournament at the fields near the Galveston airport.  I managed to get there right at 8 a.m. as they were kicking off.  Tournament director Urbina had asked me as chaplain to pray with the guys before they got started, and I was certainly honored.

Boy, being at that field sure brought back some memories.  I raced rather quickly back through the years just before Hurricane Ike when Seaside had a team in the city church league.  Those were some really fun times, but our team was less that admirable when it came to skill.  We did know how to have a good time, though, and laughter prevailed in our dugout and on the field.  I also remembered way back to when I was a young teenager playing baseball regularly at the pony-colt field.  That was before it was named after somebody.  We played a practice game on the softball field, and I hit the first and only home run of my entire baseball career off of a fireballing right-hander named Mickey Whitley.  I was running full-out and almost to second base before Mickey got my attention and told me it was out of the park.  You could sure tell I had never been in that position before.  Didn’t even have a home run trot worked out.  And as I talked with one of the older guys who was in the umpiring crew for the day, I remembered the times I had wandered over to the softball field during one of the many fast-pitch tournaments that used to be held regularly in Galveston.  I was fascinated by the speed of the pitches, but more so by how close the third-basemen played to the batter.  And that wonder finally became reality for me when one of the teams needed an extra player and picked me up to be their third baseman.  I loved it. 

Great memories there.  But that was a long time ago.  A really long time ago.  Like 43 years ago.  Nevertheless, the old man here actually got picked up by one of teams to be the designated hitter, meaning I didn’t ever have to take the field.  You know, strictly an RBI man.  I managed eke out a few hits.  Even got that RBI against the one team in the tournament that didn’t have a fire fighter on it.  They were the only ones who didn’t seem to be playing for fun, though.  It was kind of sad.  They won their games, so I guess they got what they came for, but I think I’ll stick with fire fighter family.  I enjoyed watching the little kids play together, and especially watching them run the bases between games.  I was introduced to several wives and girlfriends.  Gotta love that family atmosphere.  It is such a privilege to be associated with this group, and they have gone out of their way to welcome me.  I just hope they know I want to be there for them when they need me.  I am sure sore this morning.  But it was sure worth it.

Psalms 103:9-10 says, “He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.”

Father, thank you for that promise.  It’s more than just cutting us some slack.  It’s mercy.  And all you ask in return is our love.  That is humbling.  Take care of Haisley and her family.  And watch over that whole fire fighter family.  Amen.