Baseball

Yesterday I  had my follow-up with my surgeon. I thought I was meeting with his PA, but I guess she had the day off. Everything looks  good and it feels even better once the steri-strips were removed. They were starting to itch. My muscles in that area are recovering, so I think I might try to swing a golf club this weekend, just to see what happens.

Ben and his teammates line up to receive their medals

Last night, Ben's Little League  All-Stars Team was in the championship game of a local tournament. They were the only undefeated team and expectations ran high. Unfortunately, the team came out flat, not hitting as they had done all tournament long and making too many mistakes. They lost to a very good team. Many boys were fighting tears as they received their second placed medals, but they played their hearts out, which is what really matters.

During the pre-game festivities, I couldn't help think what a privilege I had being there. Not watching Ben in the championship game, although that was fun, but to be here, experiencing life and health. Last year when Ben played in this tournament, I had just started chemo. I wasn't feeling well enough to keep the scorebook as I usually do. God has been so faithful through this past year, to bring me back to this moment, and allowing the boys to have such a fun run of it. Since we had the best record out of pool play, we had the advantage of being home team every game, so I got to keep the official book, and Nathan helped with pitch count. Before the game, a local high school student sang the National Anthem, and as I listened to her sweet voice, I thought, this is what matters. These are the moments that count. We live each day as best as we can. We battle whatever challenges we face with God's strength, and win or lose, we keep on fighting. This makes life rich. It makes each day count. At the end of the day, win or lose, we can say we lived well.

Signed Baseball and Medal 

I have to admit, watching Ben play, I got a bit prideful. I wanted the other coaches in our league to see what type of player he was. Then I finally realized, what matters most is not what other people think, but what God thinks. Ben played his heart out, made some pretty spectacular plays in the field, struck out some good hitters when he pitched, and got some key base hits. He also walked a few batters, threw the ball wide, and struck out.  I still couldn't love him more. Even if he had hit a homerun that won the game, I couldn't have loved  him more. No matter what he did, whether he won or lost, played well or stunk up the field, I couldn't have loved him more. God does an even better job at loving than I do. That's the surety we have in our relationship with God. Even though I mess up, place too high of importance on things that don't matter, let my sinful pride get in the way, God couldn't love me more. He uses circumstances to bring us closer to Him, to keep us humble, to keep our eyes on what really matters. My chemo last year was a means God used to keep my eyes on Him.Walking in faith with Him every day without certainty that my cancer is gone for good is a way that I learn to trust God in all things.  Sometimes He uses losses in championship games for us to keep our focus on the important. Even though Ben was heartbroken after the game and didn't want to go out to eat to celebrate second place, once we got home and he had a little time to himself, he was laughing and eating when the pizza came. Even though the loss was hard, I know he learned more than if he had won. Just like the hard things we go through in life. It's because God loves us best that we go through it.