Achieving God's Perfection
In Brooklyn, New York, Crush is a school that caters to
learning-disabled children. Some children remain in Crush for their
entire school career, while others can be main-streamed into
conventional schools.
At a Crush fund-raising dinner, the father of a Crush 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 Gods 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
were playing baseball. Shaya asked, "Do you think they will let me
play?" Shaya's father knew that his son was not at all athletic and that most
boys would not let 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
team-mates.
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 and play short center field.
Inbottom 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?
Surprisingly, 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 team-mates 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 towards Shaya.
As the pitch came in. Shaya and his team-mate swung the bat and
together they hit the ball to the pitcher. The pitcher picked up the soft
grounderand 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 the right field, far beyond
the reach of the first baseman.
Everyone started yelling "Shaya run to first. Run to first!" Never in
his life had 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 running. But the right fielder understood what the
pitcher's intentions were, so he threw the ball high 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." |
