I was sitting in the bleachers, watching my four-year-old grandson play baseball. His team was all boys except for one very sweet, very determined little girl.
As the game unfolded, it was clear she was struggling to keep up. Try as she might, she just couldn’t seem to hit the ball. The rest of her team fared much better, scoring plenty of runs and going well ahead of their opponent, even though the little girl was a sure strikeout every time.
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That is, until the last inning, her final trip to the plate. She came up with the bases loaded and swung earnestly at the first two pitches, missing both times. Then it happened. On the third pitch, she gave one last, desperate swing. She seemed almost shocked when she heard the ping of the bat against the ball. She stood in partial disbelief as she watched the ball trickle out toward third base, her coaches and family screaming at her to run!
Finally comprehending what just happened, she dropped the bat and ran with every fiber of her strength toward first, narrowly beating a tag by a fleet-footed boy from the other side.
The hit scored a run, adding to her team’s dominant victory. When the game concluded, the children gathered around their coach and he held the game ball up high in the air.
You must understand, when 4-year-olds play a baseball game the only things they really care about are the post-game snacks and the game ball. After praising his team for their efforts, the coach presented the ball to the little girl. She was stunned. She broke out into a smile wide enough to light up an entire ballpark. Clutching her prize, she gleefully ran over to the backstop screen to show it to her family. Her overflowing joy touched all of us.
In Psalm 21 David writes, “The king rejoices in your strength, Lord. How great is his joy in the victories you give!” That coach knew other players were more deserving of the game ball, but he also understood the joy it would bring that little girl.
We all broke out in loud applause for her. Somehow, we all shared in her jubilation.
That’s the thing about true joy. It’s contagious.
EDITOR’S NOTE — Ken Lass is a retired Birmingham television news and sports anchor and an award-winning columnist for numerous publications and websites.
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