West Cocoa Chat

My good friend Brady (http://www.evendays.org/) has left 2 comments that tie into today’s post. The first one was a reference to my post about all the arrangements we made to get Steven to Winterfest or “The Gamble” as I called it. Brady said, “You really live life on the edge, don't you?” Then Brady commented yesterday about Steven’s homerun at Titusville by saying, “What a neat feeling to have as a dad to see your kid hit it over the fence!” Lets just say that Brady was giving us (as Yogi Berra would say) “dejavou all over again.” Take a look at yesterday’s box score:

Cocoa 9, Merritt Island 8

Merritt Island 040 100 3 -- 8 9 1
Cocoa 013 104 x -- 9 9 4

MI -- C.J. Gonzalez, Tapcyznski (4) and Joey Noble; C -- Steven Schils, Steven Walker (6), Brett Langston (7) and Eric Zarm W: Walker (2-0). L: Tapcyznski. S: Langston (1). 2B: MI -- Earhart, Boyce, Gonzalez; C -- Beck, Zarm, Walker. HR: C -- Walker. Records: Cocoa 8-2.

If you read it right you can see Brady’s prophesy about “living life on the edge” as we spotted Merritt Island 4 runs before Steven hit a double and then scored our first run. Then Brady’s 2^nd comment came true again as Steven hit a solo homerun, his second of the week to tie the game at 5 to 5. Brady, a “neat feeling” was had by all as the crowd (and we had a crowd last night) erupted in celebration.

The support Steven had last night was magical. Of course his (which would include Liz) family was in attendance but there was also the youth group from Central, the Best Man in our wedding, and even a colleague from my school and his wife at the game as well. I’ll never forget the image of Steven’s good friend Zack, walking into our Stadium wearing one of Steven’s practice jerseys! Now that is a true friend. What made the image even better was his girlfriend, a sweet girl in our youth group, was wearing a Merritt Island jersey to support her school and they were walking hand in hand. Oh, did I mention that Zack doesn’t go to Cocoa High but rather attends another local High School. That was class in my opinion.

Then there was the youth group. When Steven hit is solo HR to tie the game, they stood on the bleachers, applauded, and cheered as he crossed homeplate. When Steven was put on the mound in the 6^th inning to close the game out, the youth group “oohed and aahed” at each warm up pitch he threw.

If you have followed our lives you probably know that for the last 2 years, success for Steven on the field has been inadvertent at best. He had some good games, and then he would ride the pine for a while. In fact, the 3B Coach for M.I. was our former Head Coach so I knew for Steven; I won’t say it was so much a feeling of “revenge” but rather a feeling of pride that he experienced as he performed so well in front of his former coach beating his team.

It’s probably here that we can all learn a life lesson. Steven’s passion on this side of eternity is baseball. For the last 2 years he has wanted nights like we’ve had the last 2 games. Yet, he has persevered, supporting his team, supporting his coach, and trying to get better. Now, he hasn’t been perfect in his attitude at times but then none of ever are. I shared a story with Liz last night that I'll share with you. This past Fall, around 10pm one evening, Steven and I went on a 4 mile walk. He was frustrated with life, with baseball, with the fact that no one had called or contacted him about playing college baseball.

I will never forget that walk for it was intense, filled with raw emotion, cutting remarks that Steven made about himself and our support of him, and then it turned. At some point in that walk our talk turned to really important things such as life, his love for us, and how he would be devastated on the day that we pass away. I remember asking Steven to do something that is hard for all of us to do, to get “far-sighted.” I told him that God had a plan for his life that would involve far more important and eternal things than baseball. Our walk ended with hugs, smiles, and new sense of focus.

I’m not saying my son, or any of us for that matter are perfect, we all know better. But the one thing I’m more proud of in Steven than any homerun he hits, and in all of us for that matter, is that in moments of clarity, those of us in Christ, can get a grip on what is really important.

God, we’re enjoying this ride for we have prayed and wished for it for a long time. We also know that all of this is fleeting and can turn on a dime. Yet, in all of Your blessings let all of us always be able to say these powerful words of Job 1:21 -

“….The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away;
blessed be the name of the LORD."

For Family, we all know that the ultimate support, in the good times and bad, is the support and love of the Lord.

// posted by cwinwc @ 3:27 AM