God on the Diamond: An Essay by TS 1

TS 1 wrote the following essay for the Writing Class he is taking through our local homeschool group.  The assignment was to write a five paragraph essay about an autobiographical incident, which included a moral lesson.  He immediately knew what topic he would share.  He is graciously allowing me to publish his essay on my blog :)  I post it not only to share what he is learning, but also to give glory to God who taught him the lesson he describes here.  As a mom, I do my best to impart God's truth and wisdom to my children in the circumstances of their lives.  I often fail and fumble my way through it, but God never fails.  

God on the Diamond

By TS 1

     Before I became a good hitter, I had to learn an important lesson.  The lesson

 was to persevere through things which I had never experienced before.  I also

 learned to trust God in everything, including baseball.  I had to learn an important

 life lesson.

    It was Spring 2010, and I had just started the “minors” in my league.  The

 minors is kid pitch, with 3 strikes, 3 outs, an umpire, and a game played under

 Little League conditions.  My team was the A’s, and my league was AYYA, which

stands for All Yonkers Youth Association.  Whenever I put on that green A’s

jersey with the yellow “Athletics” fastened on the front, I felt prepared for the

game. Although it didn’t really seem that way because I was having,

unfortunately, a slumping season with no hits going into the last game.  In Spring

2010, I needed to get a hit in that last game.

     On that hot, sunny day, I had to accomplish something that I really needed to

 achieve: a hit.  The game took place at Cook Field, a remolded soccer field

 converted for the Spring to 3 Little League fields, in Yonkers.  The three baseball

 diamonds were set down in a valley with grassy hills for sides that we had to

 climb up and down to get to the fields.  I was extremely nervous when I stepped 

up to the plate.  With a 2-2 count, I saw the ball, and I swung hard, I heard the

 “ping” sound on my bat, the one you hear when you hit a homer on a metal bat. 

 As I heard the fans’ loud cheers on that hot day, I wondered, “Had I done it?”

    As I saw the ball flying through the blue sky over the infield, I felt very

 shocked.  It whizzed into left centerfield, and the runner, who was on second

 base, scored easily.  That was a feeling of amazement to me!  As I rounded third

 base, I took a quick glance into left field, and I saw the outfielder still sprinting for

 the ball.  I knew that I should attempt to score.  As I easily scored, the fans went

 wild.  My heart was pounding after an exciting 13-11 victory.  Even almost two

 years later, I can picture the homerun in my head and still feel proud.

      In the Spring of 2010, on the baseball diamond, I learned to persevere

 through hard things, and to trust God.  I had to pray a lot and trust God to know

 that He is doing everything right.  I was, at many times, discouraged.  My mom

 and dad told me many times that I had to trust God’s plan.  I had to believe even

 when my prayers weren’t being answered the way I wanted them to be.  Of

 course, it also took many hours of  batting practice.  I practiced at home with a

 very useful hitting machine called the Swing Away, which is an adjustable ball on

 a rope that you swing at, and you don’t have to pick up any balls.  I also went to a

 hitting clinic in Pelham, which  helped me with my swing.  I persevered through

 this  slumping season because I kept on going.  During my slumping season, I

 had to learn an important lesson, which was to persevere and trust God.