Lake Mary Champions

Cheers erupted as the player slid into home plate for the extra inning run to win the game. During the series, the Little League boys from Lake Mary played hard and didn’t give up even when they were behind. 

            Yellow shirted fans cheered loudly from the stands. Back home in Florida, watch parties celebrated. The entire community and beyond rejoiced at Florida’s first ever World Championship. 

            After losing to Texas, the double elimination tournament gave them a second chance. They beat Texas in a later game but consoled the losing team. 

            During the games, their love for baseball, their families and each other showed. Even though they went to Pennsylvania to play baseball, they didn’t forget to be kind and compassionate.

            Immediately after scoring the winning run, they displayed how to be true champions. When the boys saw the tears of the losing Chinese Taipei team, the Florida players put their arms around the boys and offered comfort. Their coach squatted down to console a devastated boy. Their kindness brought tears to my eyes as I watched boy after boy support their rivals. 

            They were baseball champs but more importantly champions in the way they live.  Interviews with parents during the series also showed families who cared about loving others. 

            We need to celebrate the Lake Mary Little League Champions for what they did on and off the field. 

            As adults we can learn how to live well by emulating the actions of the Lake Mary Champions. 

Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.

Proverbs 22:6 (NIV)

Loving Father, help us remember to be kind and loving to those around us even if they are different from us. Turn enemies into friends. We can often learn from children. 

Amen

Answer to Prayer

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Colossians 3:17 (ESV)

Whenever I travel, a couple of my books go with me. I pray to meet the right person to receive each one. 

            On my flight home from Indiana, a gray-haired lady sat by the window when I took the aisle. We spoke briefly. Then as the plane filled, another older lady moved into the middle seat. 

            I learned she had visited family for three weeks and was ready to return home to The Villages, a huge retirement community an hour from me. She lived in Indiana with her pastor husband before moving to Florida. 

            Once in the air both of us turned on our tablets and became immersed in our games. She touched her screen and looked at me. Free Cell came up on both tablets. While I continued trying to win,  she jumped from one type of game to another. 

            Later as we sipped our drinks and ate teeny airline snacks, we talked more. She relayed her husband died  three years ago and the previous day was their anniversary. I understood how difficult special days could be. Our conversation continued with stories about our deceased husbands. 

            I handed her my book on grief. She looked at it and tried to give it back.

            “No, it is for you. I wrote it,” I said. 

            “You wrote it?”

            Most people don’t believe they are talking to the author. I assured her that I did write it and told her why. 

            At baggage claim, she invited me to visit her home so she could show me around. I have no idea if we will meet again, but I am confident God placed her in my life that day.  

Over and over, I have met grieving people on planes, at church, in my neighborhood, in parking lots…

Loving Father, thank you for answering prayers. Help us notice people around us who need a listening ear, a kind word or even a book to ease their pain.

Amen