DailySusan Humor Blog

IT'S ALL GOOD

For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.
-- 1 Corinthians 12:12

Maybe it was Jeannie’s chili, left on our counter because she knew we wouldn’t have time to cook during the tournament.

Maybe it was the red paint our neighbor Sharon got in her blonde hair after making signs and putting up streamers outside our house.

Maybe it was Hulli’s mom’s flags, bright red felt symbols of the whole town’s pride.

Maybe it was the crazy camp song the players sang in pre-game huddles to calm their nerves. Or how their bus had fake spider webs, popcorn ‘’hands’’ made of clear plastic gloves, and the slogan, ‘’Fear the Deer.’’

All I know is, the Elkhorn Antlers took State in softball this week for the first time. Four wins, all shutouts. Athletic ability and community support fused powerfully for our daughter’s team. It was a profoundly spiritual experience.

Softball? Spiritual? Of course it is. Who says faith, hope and love are only for church?

They had come close at State over the past 10 years, but lost, heartbreaker after heartbreaker. Maybe this year? They kept winning, all season. The cheering section grew from three loyal seniors to a grandstand full. Then it was State. The freshman boys painted themselves red from the waist up to brave the 50-degree breeze. Seven kids made T-shirts that spelled out E-L-K-H-O-R-N and sat together in a row.

We moms made signs and decorated lockers, filled treat bags and served nutritious dinners with outrageously nonnutritious desserts. We erected an enormous bat and ball outside school,

I didn’t actually pray they’d take State. I just prayed that Eden would get a triple and that every girl on the team would find a way to contribute.

In the first game, she belted one, high, wide and handsome. A triple. My head fell to my chest. Why be surprised, though? After the game, I told another mom. She said, ‘’We’ve sent some prayers up, too. Let’s see how they’re answered.’’

Well, they were, in ways expected and unexpected.

The senior pitcher, Jenna, the field marshal, pitched tougher and tougher under pressure. The senior catcher, Hayley, deserved an Oscar for the way she framed balls into strikes for the ump. Our tallest player, Christine, a 6’3” first baseman, did the splits with one long leg toward the fielders and the other all the way back on first base. I swear she got the put-outs before the batter even dropped the bat.

Great play is expected, from veterans. But the rookie, freshman Mackenzie, played error-free and got some big hits. Amanda, moved up from JV, contributed some key outs.

Inspiration came from all quarters. Senior shortshop Kelly went 4 for 4 in the first game, and shot sideways for one ball at 100 mph, horizontal to the baseline, her passion firing up the team.

In the semifinal, Gatsby, a cool-headed junior, raced for first base when the third strike hit the dirt. The opponents ran into their dugout as if the inning were over. But Gatsby knew the rule, and stayed put. She prevailed. Instead of a K, she sparked the team.

In the next inning, the designated hitter Jasmine, our cleanup batter, got a rare walk. But they didn’t put in a speedy courtesy runner for her. THAT was different.

Second later our daughter Eden, nicknamed ‘’Beamer’’ for her bright smiles, ripped one. You know how a good hit sounds? Well . . . yay-uh. It soared, supersonically, all the way out to the fence. The crowd of boys moaned in ecstasy -- ‘’Ohhhhhhhh!’’ -- revealing that THEY all wished THEY’D made that hit. Jasmine lumbered around the bases to home. The grandstand erupted. Beamer stood on second base, beaming back a laser-bright smile. It was the only run of the game.

It wouldn’t have been, if not for tiny little Kristi, with the great, big heart. The senior was moved to right field this year, and had never played in a strong wind. Wouldn’t you know? Two enormous hits literally blew by her in gusts. But in the last inning, another one, a game-stealer, blasted out. Kristi drew a bead. And the littlest girl made the biggest catch.

Then it was the title game. Win that, and we’d win it all. Lose it, and we’d be forced into one more game and might lose it all. This opponent, Beatrice, had done that to Elkhorn twice before in recent years, and wrested the championship out of our hands. This time, would the bounces go our way?

The game was scoreless into the last inning when our ninth batter, Shannon, struggling recently with illness, came to the plate . . . and got the winning RBI.

Go figure! Go crazy! Go Elkhorn -- TOOK STATE!

The stands emptied onto the field, with coaches and grandparents and neighbors and students rejoicing. Our two older daughters, back from college on fall break, got to see it. The senior moms handed out red roses. Cameras flashed.

I looked over at Shannon’s mom, glittering tears filling her eyes, sitting there just soaking it all in. She’s the one who’d confided about her prayers, earlier. We embraced.

I looked over at Jeff and Cory Petermann, brothers who are summer coaches of some of the girls. Their eyes sparkled, too.

Several people had on the T-shirts the girls had designed for themselves and their fans. The message proclaimed:

‘’It’s All Good.’’

It sure is. Old and young, weak and strong, slow and fast, from tried-and-true to totally improbable, we all found a way to contribute, and it all came together on that starry autumn night.

All for One and One for all . . . and this one’s for you, Lord. Thanks, Coach!

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Prayer Request: Father God, thank You for the joy and encouragement You grant to teenagers through high-school sports and other wholesome activities. We turn our hearts toward other teenagers who right now are struggling with negative emotions and impulses to the point of depression and thoughts of suicide. One in particular, the son of a friend’s friend, is in trouble right now. Lord God, in Jesus’ name, we ask for good thoughts and feelings directly from You to flood his heart and mind. Inspire him to open his heart to You so You can lift the darkness, for Your glory and his good. (Lamentations 3:25)