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My child cannot remember facts and figures as other children do. Where is
God's 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 Shaya
knew 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 want 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 to play short center field. In the bottom of the eighth
inning, Shaya's team scored a few runs but was still behind by three. In
the bottom 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 toward
Shaya. As the pitch came in, Shaya and his team-mate swung the bat and
together they hit a slow ground ball to the pitcher. The pitcher picked up
the soft grounder and 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 right field,
far beyond reach of the first baseman.
Everyone started yelling, "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 still running. But the right fielder understood what the
pitcher's intentions were, so he threw the ball high and far 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."