Insert Grace Here

When Sophie is up for bat at her softball games, she doesn’t always present the ability we’ve seen in her while practicing at home. As her father, Joe will often tell her during those home practices that she has far more power behind her swings. He reminds her to resist swinging at the first pitch and count the seconds before the ball is in reach. The remaining pitches, if she swings, she needs to follow through, and follow through with force. At a recent home practice, Joe reminded her to give it all she’s got. We were on the driveway, garage door shut, when Sophie complied with his instruction.

“BAM!” The next ball hit the garage. Then the next. And then the siding just above the garage. A softball size dent boasts the impact of her swing. Never mind that it might’ve been a foul ball had we been on the field.

“I’ll pay for it,” Sophie announced. Oh, my sweet Girl! Didn’t she know this was a beautiful reminder of this lesson?

Her softball games are far different than those home practices with her audience of her two greatest fans. She steps up to bat during games and sometimes her father has yet to arrive after his long commute from work. My attempts to cheer her on are not usually helpful. I watched expectantly last night as Sophie stepped up to bat and swung at the first three balls, seemingly without much thought. Strike one! Strike two! Strike three! Oh, my heart!

It’s in those moments that I text or call her daddy: “HURRY!”

Her games with parents and grandparents filling the bleachers and sitting in their lounge chairs, coaches surrounding both teams, and tween girls with all eyes on her, starkly contrast to those home practices where she’s relaxed. Voices call out to her from the crowd and the field. Sometimes she instinctively looks back. That’s generally when her father is speaking, though. In the midst of the crowd with so many voices in the wind, she often loses focus—especially if her father isn’t present.

Last night when Sophie stepped up to bat for the second time, Daddy was there. He had already made his presence known to her, gave his pep talk. That alone was noted in Sophie’s approach. “YOU CAN DO IT, SOPHIE,” this Mama called out. Another mom jerked her head around and reminded me of the story I’d shared with her at the previous practice.

“Tell her to HIT THE SIDING!”

Certainty rose in me. “Hit the siding, Sophie! HIT THE SIDING!” YES! I am one of “those moms” now. I am, after all, one of her two biggest fans.

Sophie waited on the first pitch just like Daddy told her. I don’t recall if it was the next or the next that she hit. I only know she hit the ball. Ultimately, they got her out at first. But it was close. And most of all—she hit the ball. She hit the ball!!!

Our lives are often like those softball games. Sometimes we’re up to bat and we hear the voices in the wind. In our Christian walks, those voices aren’t always the lies of the enemy. Sometimes they’re the people around us. We get confused. So many voices. It can be easy to succumb to them and forget Truth. Our brothers and sisters spurring us on can make all the difference in how we approach that next swing. After all, should they not be some of our biggest fans? Most importantly, we need remember that Daddy has never left, His Presence goes with us always! Always! In spite of the lies we might’ve fed on throughout our journeys. He simply can never leave us. It’s His promise. He is there, in spite of whether or not we’ll make that next swing. He won’t look at us differently if we fail. No. His loving countenance shines on us forever more, thanks to His Son. And that! Enables us to be free to fall, free to strike, free to strike out. But the incredible thing we often forget as Christians, is that knowing the Truth—that He indeed will never, ever leave us and that He is for us!—will ultimately result in victory.

From now on, when Sophie is up to bat, I’ll be the one in crowd yelling crazy loud: “HIT THE SIDING, SOPHIE! HIT THE SIDING!!!”