Sports Authority

Somewhere in the Bible it says that in order to get into heaven, we have to “be like little children”. I am not quite sure exactly what that means but I think it refers to “joyfulness”. Children are really good at being joyful. They’re not afraid to laugh and yell with joy when they are happy, especially when they’re playing games or sports with other children.

I never really got to play sports when I was growing up. My Dad was in the Marine Corps and we were always moving so it was tough to meet people and make friends. But I do vividly remember the one time when I got to play on a Little League Team. We were living in San Diego and it was only for a few months, but I absolutely loved it. Being on a team helped me to make new friends quickly and baseball was like a little piece of heaven. I loved the smell of the dew covered grass in the morning, the feel of the leather glove on my hand and the sound the ball made when you threw it hard and somebody caught it just right with a loud “pop”! It’s funny but I don’t remember whether or not we ever won a game. I just remember how fun it was to feel like I finally belonged to something, like I was part of a team, a team that had fun together!

When I grew up and had four children of my own, they each had their own “sport”. One loved baseball, one loved hockey, one loved soccer and one love to sing and act in local theater. I truly loved watching them play and I have to admit it, my face lit up with joy almost as much as theirs did, when I got to see them having so much fun.

Later on in life I realized how much I had missed by not playing sports. I guess I was so busy working and raising children that I felt like I never had time for fun. But then I got the chance to join the Halo Baseball Club, which is basically just like Little League, except for grown men. I was 48 by then, but swinging a bat, running the bases and sliding head first into home plate made me feel like a kid again. I am still playing baseball, still part of that team and still very much a “joyful kid”; at least I still am when I am out there on that wet green grass!

 

And that got me thinking….. For most of us, life is always going to be a busy parade of hard work and overwhelming responsibilities. But it can also be fun if we make time to have fun. Allow yourself some time to play, to have fun and to feel joyful. Who knows, you might even get drafted by a heavenly team!

That’s me in 1967…The skinny kid, far left, middle row

 

 

 

 

 

 

We didn’t lose the game, we just ran out of time!

             ~Vince Lombar