GOD'S PERFECTION
In Brooklyn, New York, Chush is a school that caters to learning disabled
children. Some children remain in Chush for their entire school career, while
others can be mainstreamed into conventional schools.
At a Chush fundraising dinner, the father of a Chush child delivered a speech
that would never be forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school
and its dedicated staff, he cried out, "Where is the perfection in my son
Shaya?
Everything God does is done with perfection. But my child cannot understand
things as other children do. My child cannot remember facts and figures as
other children do. Where is God's perfection?"
The audience was shocked by the question, pained by the father's anguish and
stilled by the piercing query. " I believe," the father answered, "that
when
God brings a child like this into the world, the perfection that he seeks is
in the way people react to this child." He then told the following story
about his son Shaya:
One afternoon Shaya and his father walked past a park where some boys Shaya
knew were playing baseball. Shaya asked, "Do you think they will let me
play?" Shay's father knew that his son was not at all athletic and that most
boys would not want him on their team. But Shaya's father understood that if
his son was chosen to play it would give him a comfortable sense of belonging.
Shaya's father approached one of the boys in the field and asked if Shaya
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 we'll
try to put him up to bat in the ninth inning." Shaya's father was ecstatic as
Shaya smiled broadly. Shaya was told to put on a glove and go out to play
short center field. In the bottom of the eighth inning,
Shaya's team scored a few runs but was still behind by three. In the bottom
of the ninth inning, Shaya's team scored again and now with two outs and the
bases loaded with the potential winning run on base, Shaya was scheduled to
be up. Would the team actually let Shaya bat at this juncture and give away
their chance to win the game?
Suprisingly, Shaya was given the bat. Everyone knew that it was all but
impossible because Shaya didn't even know how to hold the bat properly, let
alone hit with it. However as Shaya stepped up to the plate, the pitcher
moved a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shaya should at least be able
to make contact. The first pitch came in and Shaya swung clumsily and missed.
One of Shaya's teammates came up to Shaya, and together they held the bat and
faced the pitcher waiting for the next pitch. The pitcher again took a few
steps forward to toss the ball softly toward Shaya. As the pitch came in,
Shaya and his teammate swung at the bat and together they 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. Shaya 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, "Shaya, run to first. Run to first." Never in his life had
Shaya run to first. He scampered down the baseline wide-eyed and startled.
By the time he reached first base, the right fielder had the ball. He could
have thrown the ball to the second baseman who would tag out Shaya, who was
still running. But the right fielder understood what the pitcher's intentions
were, so he threw the ball high and far over the third baseman's head.
Everyone yelled, "Run to second, run to second." Shaya ran towards second
base as the runners ahead of him deliriously circled the bases towards home.
As Shaya reached second base, the opposing short stop ran to him, turned him
in the direction of third base and shouted, "Run to third." As Shaya rounded
third, the boys from both teams ran behind him screaming, "Shaya run home."
Shaya ran home, stepped on home plate and all 18 boys lifted him on their
shoulders and made him the hero, as he had just hit a "grand slam" and won
the game for his team. "That day," said the father softly with tears now
rolling down his face, "those 18 boys reached their level of God's
perfection."
Funny how this is so true and shame on us! Funny how simple it is for people
to trash God and then wonder why the world is going to hell.
Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible
says. Or is it scary?
Funny how someone can say "I believe in God" but still follow Satan (who by
the way, also "believes" in God) Funny how you can send a thousand
'jokes'
through e-mail and they spread like wildfire, but when you start sending
messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing.
Funny how the lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene pass freely through cyberspace,
but the public discussion of Jesus is suppressed in the school and workplace.
Funny isn't it?
Funny how someone can be so fired up for Christ on Sunday, but be an
invisible Christian the rest of the week. Are you laughing? Funny how when
you go to forward this message, you will not send it to many on your address
list, because you're not sure what they believe, or what they will think of
you for sending it to them. Funny how I can be more worried about what other
people think of me than what God thinks of me.
Are you thinking?
P.S. You know something, I didn't hesitate a second about sending this to my
family and friends.
______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at
http://www.hotmail.com