Potential
I saw the potential right away. I had already taught my two oldest sons the rudiments
of baseball – catching, throwing, and hitting.
Jacob, my oldest was cautious about catching at
first. I had to make sure to lob the
ball to his left side – his glove hand side.
If I mistakenly lobbed the ball straight at him, he ducked out of the
way. It took Jake quite a while before
he was confident that he could catch the ball safely no matter where I threw
it. Jacob developed into a very good player
and settled into playing third base as his most natural position. He played organized baseball until he
contracted mononucleosis right
before his sophomore season of high school baseball. The doctor cautioned against playing for that
year; Jacob used it as an opportunity to move on from baseball to other interests
(girls).
Nathan is 18 months younger than Jacob. He
was a natural. Unlike Jacob, he never
flinched. Jacob’s arm was strong but
Nathan’s was extremely accurate. He was
playing in the 8 to10 year-old league; while Jake had moved up to the 11 to
12-year-old level. One evening Jake’s
team was short-handed. The coach asked
if Nathan would fill in and he became the starting second baseman for the older
team for the rest of the year. He could
play any position. The coach who had
seen the potential for Nate to play with the older boys said that Nathan had
the most natural fielding ability he had ever seen. Nathan settled in at catcher – a position he
loved because he was in on every play.
Nathan played ball even after he finished school for a couple of years
in the wooden bat Dairyland League.
Benjamin was my
youngest. He was a very relaxed student
of baseball; it came natural to him.
What I noticed immediately was that his arm was as strong as Jacob’s and
as accurate as Nathan’s. Even at 5 and 6
years old I could see the potential. He
flourished in T ball. I remember playing
catch with Ben before his first official practice to help him warm up, and the
coach came over and watched. He
commented that he was impressed by how far apart we were to each other and how
strong of an arm Ben had.
But something happened
in the year that Ben moved up to the 7-year-old league where there was a
pitcher. I had to travel for work a lot
that summer, so I didn’t make many practices.
All I know is that Ben seemed hesitant.
It didn’t help that he got hit with a pitch his first time at bat. He struggled at the plate the rest of the
season. Ben was not having fun, so while
I was disappointed, I wasn’t surprised when he said that he didn’t want to play
anymore.
Ben had a troubled
youth. He didn’t get along that well
with his brothers, he started out great in school but his effort and grades
slipped along the way. By high school it
was a struggle. We suspected drugs but
he insisted no. But on his 16th
birthday he was caught at school with drug paraphernalia. That at least brought the battle out into the open,
but it was a mess for 8 long, very dark years.
The biggest regret I had as a father was that he was letting all that
potential go to waste.
Baseball is not
life. But it can be seen as a metaphor
for life. It’s a team sport that demands
individual effort, and making the most of your God-given talents. No matter what the last pitch was, you have
to step back in the batter’s box and get ready for the next one. It’s about overcoming the sting of loss and also
the thrill of winning to focus on the next game. Each game, and the season end way too soon
most of the time.
It took multiple
arrests and incarcerations, but along the way Ben encountered a Judge who saw
the potential. Instead of prison, he sent
Ben to a treatment program. The
counselors there saw the problems and offered honest evaluations, but they saw
potential as well. They even asked Ben
to mentor newcomers to the program.
Somewhere along the way, maybe – probably for the first time in his life
Ben looked in the mirror and finally saw potential. That also meant owning his mistakes. He did.
With the help of many prayers
and the support of family Ben began to build a life. He encountered a business owner who
understood the risks, but also saw the potential. Ben has worked for that business for over nine
years now.
Ben is married and has
children of his own. He looks at them,
and sees the potential.
His Peace <><
Deacon Dan
Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash
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