i recived this a few days ago in my e-mail and thought i whould share it This will give you cold chills, but
puts life into perspective!
Gods Plan
At a fundraising dinner for a school
that serves learning-disabled
children, the father of one of the
school's students delivered a speech
that would never be forgotten by all
who attended.
After extolling the school and its
dedicated staff, he offered a
question.
"Everything God does is done with
perfection. Yet, my son, Shay, cannot
learn things as other children do. He
cannot understand things as other
children do. Where is God's plan
reflected in my son?"
The audience was stilled by the
query. The father continued. "I
believe," the father answered, "that
when God brings a child like Shay
into the world, an opportunity to
realize the Divine Plan presents
itself. And it comes in the way people
treat that child."
Then, he told the following story:
Shay and his father had walked past
a park where some boys Shay knew
were playing baseball. Shay asked,
"Do you think they will let me play?"
Shay's father knew that most boys
would not want him on their team.
But the father understood that if his
son were allowed to play it would
give him a much-needed sense of
belonging.
Shay's father approached one of the
boys on the field and asked if Shay
could play. The boy looked around for
guidance from his teammates.
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." In the
team scored a few runs but was still
behind by three.
At the top of the ninth inning, Shay
put on a glove and played in the
outfield. Although no hits came his
way, he was obviously ecstatic just
to be on the field, grinning from ear
to ear as his father waved to him from
the stands.
In the bottom of the ninth inning,
Shay's team scored again. Now, with
two outs and bases loaded, the
potential winning run was on base.
Shay was scheduled to be the next
at-bat. Would the team actually let
Shay bat at this juncture and give
away their chance to win the game?
Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat.
Everyone knew that a hit was all but
impossible because Shay didn't even
know how to hold the bat properly,
much less connect with the ball.
However, as Shay stepped up to the
plate, the pitcher moved a few steps
to lob the ball in softly so Shay could
at least be able to make contact. The
first pitch came and Shay swung
clumsily and missed.
The pitcher again took a few steps
forward to toss the ball softly toward
Shay. As the pitch came in, Shay
swung at the ball and 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. Shay 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,
"Shay, run to first. Run to first."
Never in his life had Shay ever made
it to first base. He scampered down
the baseline, wide-eyed and startled.
Everyone yelled "Run to second, run
to second!" By the time Shay was
rounding first base, the right fielder
had the ball. He could have thrown
the ball to the second baseman for a
tag. But the right fielder understood
what the pitcher's intentions had
been, so he threw the ball high and
far over the third baseman's head.
Shay ran towards second base as the
runners ahead of him deliriously
circled the bases towards home.
As Shay reached second base, the
opposing shortstop ran to him,
turned him in the direction of third
base, and shouted, "Run to third!" s
Shay rounded third, the boys from
both teams were screaming, "Shay!
Run home!" Shay ran home, stepped
on home plate and was cheered as
the hero, for hitting a "grand slam"
and winning the game for his team.
"That day," said the father softly with
tears now rolling down his face, "the
boys from both teams helped bring a
piece of the Divine Plan into this
world."
And now, a footnote to the story. We
all send thousands of jokes through
e-mail without a second thought, but
when it comes to sending messages
regarding life choices, people think
twice about sharing. The crude,
vulgar, and sometimes the obscene
pass freely through cyberspace, but
public discussion of decency is too
often suppressed in school and the
workplace.
we can all make a
difference. We all have thousands of
opportunities a day to help realize
God's plan. So many seemingly
trivial interactions between two
people present us with a choice: Do
we pass along a spark of the Divine?
Or do we pass up that opportunity,
and leave the world a bit colder in the
process?
puts life into perspective!
Gods Plan
At a fundraising dinner for a school
that serves learning-disabled
children, the father of one of the
school's students delivered a speech
that would never be forgotten by all
who attended.
After extolling the school and its
dedicated staff, he offered a
question.
"Everything God does is done with
perfection. Yet, my son, Shay, cannot
learn things as other children do. He
cannot understand things as other
children do. Where is God's plan
reflected in my son?"
The audience was stilled by the
query. The father continued. "I
believe," the father answered, "that
when God brings a child like Shay
into the world, an opportunity to
realize the Divine Plan presents
itself. And it comes in the way people
treat that child."
Then, he told the following story:
Shay and his father had walked past
a park where some boys Shay knew
were playing baseball. Shay asked,
"Do you think they will let me play?"
Shay's father knew that most boys
would not want him on their team.
But the father understood that if his
son were allowed to play it would
give him a much-needed sense of
belonging.
Shay's father approached one of the
boys on the field and asked if Shay
could play. The boy looked around for
guidance from his teammates.
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." In the
team scored a few runs but was still
behind by three.
At the top of the ninth inning, Shay
put on a glove and played in the
outfield. Although no hits came his
way, he was obviously ecstatic just
to be on the field, grinning from ear
to ear as his father waved to him from
the stands.
In the bottom of the ninth inning,
Shay's team scored again. Now, with
two outs and bases loaded, the
potential winning run was on base.
Shay was scheduled to be the next
at-bat. Would the team actually let
Shay bat at this juncture and give
away their chance to win the game?
Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat.
Everyone knew that a hit was all but
impossible because Shay didn't even
know how to hold the bat properly,
much less connect with the ball.
However, as Shay stepped up to the
plate, the pitcher moved a few steps
to lob the ball in softly so Shay could
at least be able to make contact. The
first pitch came and Shay swung
clumsily and missed.
The pitcher again took a few steps
forward to toss the ball softly toward
Shay. As the pitch came in, Shay
swung at the ball and 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. Shay 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,
"Shay, run to first. Run to first."
Never in his life had Shay ever made
it to first base. He scampered down
the baseline, wide-eyed and startled.
Everyone yelled "Run to second, run
to second!" By the time Shay was
rounding first base, the right fielder
had the ball. He could have thrown
the ball to the second baseman for a
tag. But the right fielder understood
what the pitcher's intentions had
been, so he threw the ball high and
far over the third baseman's head.
Shay ran towards second base as the
runners ahead of him deliriously
circled the bases towards home.
As Shay reached second base, the
opposing shortstop ran to him,
turned him in the direction of third
base, and shouted, "Run to third!" s
Shay rounded third, the boys from
both teams were screaming, "Shay!
Run home!" Shay ran home, stepped
on home plate and was cheered as
the hero, for hitting a "grand slam"
and winning the game for his team.
"That day," said the father softly with
tears now rolling down his face, "the
boys from both teams helped bring a
piece of the Divine Plan into this
world."
And now, a footnote to the story. We
all send thousands of jokes through
e-mail without a second thought, but
when it comes to sending messages
regarding life choices, people think
twice about sharing. The crude,
vulgar, and sometimes the obscene
pass freely through cyberspace, but
public discussion of decency is too
often suppressed in school and the
workplace.
we can all make a
difference. We all have thousands of
opportunities a day to help realize
God's plan. So many seemingly
trivial interactions between two
people present us with a choice: Do
we pass along a spark of the Divine?
Or do we pass up that opportunity,
and leave the world a bit colder in the
process?
