Faith of a Shortstop

As I walked to our varsity baseball practice the other day, I noticed that one of our players was absent. Adam, our starting shortstop and one of our team captains, never misses practice. A couple of his teammates reported he was at his senior presentation. Every senior at NorthPointe Christian High School has to do a presentation in the spring of their senior year. It can be about virtually anything, but it needs to be about something personal to their life. Our head coach looked over at me and said, “Coach, you need to go that presentation. Skip out and go. I’ll handle practice.”

Though Adam was a senior and first year to our baseball program, he was not new to me. Adam had played on a couple of youth travel teams I coached when he was much younger. I had always known that he was a special young man. He had poise and maturity which excelled that of his teammates and he was gifted leader. After our travel teams disbanded and the kids moved to high school teams, I lost contact with Adam. I was saddened to hear that he had developed a significant elbow injury and couldn’t throw. I hoped the best for this young man. So when he transferred to the school where I was coaching, I knew it would be wonderful to get reacquainted with him and his family and to hear his story of the past few years.

Adam dedicated his senior presentation to the story of his injury. He spoke of his past, baseball being a high priority in his life, as a tool to build his life around. He talked about all the things he gave up to practice and excel at baseball. It seemed like a good investment of his time and energy, at the time. But then his baseball career hit a major hurdle. His elbow grew sore and doctors said it needed surgery. Two surgeries and many hours of physical therapy later, Adam was back on the field.

But, his injury had radically shaped his life for the good. You see, when Adam couldn’t throw a baseball, he chose to attend his youth group again; to go on mission trips and be mentored by his youth pastor. His injury afforded him time to discover other areas of his life that needed spiritual attention. He was able to grow in other areas rather than hitting and fielding a baseball. He was able to see a broader perspective of his life and God’s design and plan for him.

I left that presentation filled with pride and joy for this young man. As one of his former and present baseball coaches, I was glad that Adam had not given up on baseball. He’s a wonderful player and we are fortunate to have him on our team. But, I was even more moved that an 18 year old young man had learned such a vital life lesson. He learned that God loves to use the difficult hurdles in life to draw us to himself and to teach us invaluable lessons through our struggles. I’m confident that Adam will face challenges tougher than a blown out baseball elbow. But I’m not worried for Adam. I know he’ll face his next serious life challenge with faith that God will do something good in him, and hope that God will craft him into the man God wants him to be.

Testing and trials are constant threads in the stories I read in Scripture. Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Daniel and Peter are a few of my favorite Bible characters in whom God created something good through their testing and trial. I’m so glad my young friend Adam is setting his life in the same direction as these great men of faith. I’m convinced that God will do something special through this young man who is mature beyond his years.