Wildflower Writes

Is there anything more American than baseball? As I sit behind center field, awaiting the start of opening day for the 51st year of Osolo Little League, I’m taken back to some of the happiest moments of my childhood. My dad coached softball before any of his kids were old enough to play. In fact, both my sisters were named after young ladies he coached. We grew up entertaining ourselves by digging in the dirt, running the bases before games, and climbing the bleachers. When I was six, I was finally allowed to play T-ball. We played in jeans then. Even though I was probably just as bored as the other players, I wasn’t a grass picker or a butterfly chaser. I took the game seriously. I put my hands on my knees in a ready stance, and then ran all over the field when someone hit the ball. When it was my turn to bat, I hit the ball and ran as fast as I could. League designations were based on age and not ability then. I played T-ball for three years, and didn’t see a softball until I was nin...

I heard a great illustration at Youth Convention last year. Jarrod Jones was our speaker and he said, “You shouldn’t make God first in your life.” ( http://www.jarrodjones.com ). What? My whole life I had been trying to make God first in my life. When I was 13, at a youth convention far far away, the speaker asked, “What is most important to you?” My answer was “softball.” “As a Christian, Christ should be the most important thing in your life.” That moment changed my life. I had been living what I thought was a Christian life. I didn’t cheat in school. I was nice to most people. I worked hard at volleyball and basketball and track and softball. I attended church and Sunday school and youth group and even volunteered in the nursery. Ever since then I had striven to make God first. And now this speaker is telling me not to do that? “God should be the focus of your life.” He went on to describe a picture, with a circle labeled “Jesus” as the center. From that circle c...