A RANDOM ACT OF KINDNESS
At a fund-raising dinner for a school that serves learning disabled
children, the father of one of the school's students delivered a speech
that would never be forgotten by all who attended.
After extolling the school and its dedicated staff, he offered a question.
"Everything god does is done with perfection. Yet, my son, Shay, cannot
learn things as other children do. He cannot understand things as other
children do. Where is God's plan reflected in my son?"
The audience was stilled by the query.
The father continued. "I believe," the father answered, "that when God
brings a child like Shay into the world, an opportunity to realize the
Divine Plan presents itself. And it comes in the way people treat that
child."
Then, he told the following story:
Shay and his father had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were
playing baseball. Shay asked, "Do you think they will let me play?"
Shay's father knew that most boys would not want him on their team. But
the father understood that if his son were allowed to play it would give
him a much needed sense of belonging. Shay's father approached one of the
boys on the field and asked if Shay could play.
The boy looked around for guidance from his teammates. Getting none, he
took matters into his own hands and said, "We are losing by six runs, and
the game is in the eighth inning. I guess he can be on our team and I'll
try to put him up to bat in the ninth inning." In the bottom of the eighth
inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still behind by three. At
the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and played in the
outfield. Although no hits came his way, he was obviously ecstatic just
to be on the field, grinning from ear to ear as his father waved to him
from the stands. In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shay's team scored
again. Now, with two outs and bases loaded, the potential winning run was
on base. Shay was scheduled to be the next at-bat.
Would the team actually let Shay bat at this juncture and give away their
chance to win the game?
Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat. Everyone knew that a hit was all
but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly,
much less connect with the ball.
However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher moved a few steps to
lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least be able to make contact.
The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed.
The pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly toward
Shay. As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground
ball to the pitcher. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could
easily have thrown the ball to the first baseman. Shay would have been
out and that would have ended the game. Instead, the pitcher took the
ball and threw it on a high arc to right field, far beyond reach of the
first baseman.
Everyone started yelling, "Shay, run to first. Run to first."
Never in his life had Shay ever made it to first base. He scampered down
the baseline, wide-eyed and startled. Everyone yelled "Run to second, run
to second!" By the time Shay was rounding first base, the right fielder
had the ball. He could have thrown the ball to the second baseman for a
tag. But the right fielder understood what the pitcher's intentions had
been, so he threw the ball high and far over the third baseman's head.
Shay ran towards second base as the runners ahead of him deliriously
circled the bases towards home. As Shay reached second base, the opposing shortstop ran to him, turned him in the direction of third base, and
shouted, "Run to third!" As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams
were screaming, "Shay! Run home." Shay ran home, stepped on home plate
and was cheered as the hero, for hitting a "grand slam" and winning the
game for his team. "That day," said the father softly with tears now
rolling down his face," the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of
the Divine Plan into this world."
|