My daughter, Ellie, a Freshman, is playing varsity softball this year. She has played softball before, but on church leagues where the coaches pitched and everyone got a prize at the end. This is the “real” thing, where girls pitch FAST and teams have to fight to make the playoffs.
I’m not new to being a “sports mom”. But softball is different than the other sports my kids play. There is a distinct language among softball players, a unique cadence to their voices when they’re talking to each other that I haven’t heard in other sports.
I teach all of the girls on this team, and I thought I knew them. But they are different when they’re together. Not a bad different – a “team” different. They speak the same language, know the same secret code words, understand the Coach’s hand signals. They spend time together in practice and it shows on the field. I watch them and realize that they have something I just don’t get, I can’t get (I am ridiculously un-athletic!). They have a unique bond, forged on the field.
As I sit on the bleachers and watch these games, I think of the Christian life. As Christians, we have our own language, we have our own music, we have a Coach whose instructions we follow, and we have a bond that is out of this world. And, like Ellie’s softball team, those on the “outside” sometimes think we’re a little crazy. (Who am I kidding — some of us are a little crazy!) But that’s okay. We don’t need to apologize for being “weird”. We’re in the game. We need to help each other, be ready to catch a ball that flies past the short stop, cheer on that home run, and give a word of encouragement when a teammate strikes out.
So, as the Lady Knights say, “You got this, Babe!” Just keep running toward Home.
