Simple Is Better – When Dreams Do Come True

Romans 5:4 – And endurance produces character, and character produces hope,

It’s been pretty exciting week for the Vielhubers. A dream is coming true for our 14-year-old grandson, Dylan. A dream that almost felt too big.

Dylan loves to play baseball. Several years ago, he played through the local baseball league. Several teams of kids his age were organized into several teams which played each other in the spring. From this league, a travel ball team was selected. Dylan was selected and has been part of a group that have played ball together for several years.

Now 14-years-old, these boys have dreamed of going to the next level with their game. This year, their dream is coming true. They qualified and will be participating in the 14U Babe Ruth World Series.

Yes, it’s for real. A world series for 14-year-olds. Twenty teams will be participating. Ten from the United States and ten from other countries. This coming week, Dylan and his team will be traveling to Eagle Pass, Texas and competing.

Hubby Rick and I? We are SO PROUD. So thrilled to watch Dylan and his teammates accomplish something they only dreamed about. Most of this team have played together for several years. The coaches, all dads of players, have worked with these boys. They have lost games at the bottom of the seventh inning, won tournaments and celebrated well, struggled in some games while in another game, everything came together. These are boys who like to have fun, enjoy being together and have developed skills over the years.

We’ve had so much fun watching them play. They have grown from little boys into teenagers who will start high school this fall.

Whether a sports aficionado or not, there is lessons we can relate our spiritual life from these boy’s baseball journeys:

·      Over the years, their skills have improved. After years of rotating them around, the coaches discovered what kid plays best in various positions. They’ve practiced on improving their hitting, catching and pitching. This happens through repetition and creating muscle memory, of seeing what skills each player has. To grow as a Christian, skills only improve when we practice and practice them. Want to get better at praying? Pray more. Want to know more of what the Bible says? Read it. Want to elevate your spiritual gifts? Hang around people whose spiritual life you admire and learn from them. Believers need muscle memory just like athletes.

·      They have developed a sense of community on the team. These boys hang together on and off the field. They seem to genuinely like each other. Even at this age, we know which boy is the funny one, which one is more serious, which boy is the encourager. As believers, we too, need to feel like we belong to a faith-based community. We need those people we can call when we’re having a bad day. Someone to help us out when we’re in a pickle. It’s pretty hard to maintain sense of your faith unless you surround yourself with those who have some of the same desires of the heart. Don’t have a strong faith community? Find one.

·      They haven’t given up on each other and on their team. They have persevered. I often think about the value of small ball while watching these boys play. Small ball is a baseball strategy that relies on doing the basics right over and over. It’s making sure your skills are really, really good and repeating them in every game. It’s not hitting homeruns but getting on base and advancing the runners. In the game that qualified Dylan’s team to go to the world series, the two teams were tied in the bottom of the last inning. A runner was on base when Dylan came up to bat. It was so exciting to watch him hit a fantastic double and drive the runner home. This is how they won the game! A great small ball play. Too often, believers think we need to hit home runs with our faith every day. We don’t. All we really need to do is show up with God and our neighbors every day. To live our faith in some meaningful way that makes sense to us day after day after day. Faith homeruns don’t need to happen. Small ball faith keeps us on our spiritual journey. Every. Single. Day. This, my friends, is what keeps us grounded with God and each other. This is faith perseverance.

Last fall, Dylan played school basketball for the first time. Some of his friends also went out for their initial school basketball season. He played on the 8^th grade B team. The team did okay but not great. Hopefully, they had fun playing together.

It was a cold December evening on the last night of basketball season. After the game, Dylan and his dad walked with us to the car. We were taking Dylan home and his dad to his vehicle. Before we left the parking lot, Dylan shared something profound. To understand why what he said was so interesting, let me explain a couple things. First, Hubby Rick reminds his family nearly EVERY DAY how much he loves the summer. No matter what season it is. Rick also LOVES to watch baseball. A quick look at what shows are recorded on our television for later viewing verifies this.

So when Dylan declared in the cold car while wearing his basketball uniform, “Have I ever told you how much I love the summer? Bring on baseball!” we all exploded into laughter.

We had no idea that about eight months later, Dylan and his team would be playing in the Babe Ruth World Series. It’s a dream come true for these boys and their coaches; their team. It happened because they persevered.

Perseverance is hard. Sometimes, it’s much easier to give up on our faith than to stick with it. We let our faith become lukewarm because we’re not sure it really makes any difference. Something else looks more attractive.

What if this team had decided the goal was too lofty? Too big? Not important enough?

They would not have accomplished it.

It is no different for our faith journeys. We can cut corners with our faith or tell ourselves that “we’ll do it tomorrow.” We can convince ourselves it’s not that important or we don’t have time for it. We wonder if it’s really all that important. Side note: I really think it is.

If we dream of a significant spiritual journey, of a closer relationship with God and of using faith as a lens through which we view our lives, then we need perseverance. With perseverance, we create our character. When our character is solid, we discover hope. Hope in something beyond this world and beyond ourselves. Hope that God’s eternal love and grace really is for real.

And this, my friends, is something I pray we all want to embrace.

If you want to follow our local 14U team in the Babe Ruth World Series, it runs from Aug. 6-15. We’re cheering for Dylan and the Reedsburg, WI 14 U team!

Blessings –

Dianne

Dear God – Sometimes, we feel like big dreams may not be feasible. Doable. Realistic. Encourage us to keep dreaming big dreams. To find the perseverance to commit to something beyond us where we can find character and hope. Amen.

Looking for a bit of daily inspiration? Check out my daily affirmation posts on Facebook and Instagram (Dianne Deaton Vielhuber and Simple Words of Faith.)

Dianne’s Upcoming Unraveling Together Book Events:

Sun., Aug. 9 – Willow Valley United Methodist Church Worship Service, 10 AM, 24811 State Hwy 58 Richland Center, WI – located in Ithaca, WI