The Church of Little League

This past weekend my kids finished their first season in Little League and had a great experience. Katelyn is 8. Carter is 6. It was a coach pitched league, which I like much better than T-Ball, for 6-8 year olds. They play 3 innings and everyone bats every inning. All the kids want to bat last because they get to hit "the homerun ball". All the parents cheer on both teams for every kid's at bat, every kid's throw, every kid's catch ... every kid's effort! There were a lot of laughs as balls were thrown all over the field, kids missing bases and generally not knowing the rules. At the closing ceremonies on Saturday it was a lovefest. All the kids get medals for participating. In the older leagues, the winners and runners-up get trophies. They recognize players "graduating" from the league. Public recognition and thanks were given to the umpires, coaches, those who care for the fields, team sponsors, even God had a moment as we had a prayer. They had a memorial moment to remember a kid who had died but the field had been named after him and gave awards to 2 kids in memory of him. Since this is a military community they had the pledge, the Star Spangled Banner, a color guard and a moment of silence for those who have lost friends and loved ones in the war on terror. In my 3 year old's eyes, the best part was the free hot dogs. There was a raffle with numerous donated prizes. The atmosphere was celebrative, festive and full of thanksgiving and appreciation. I saw lots of people watching each other's kids. A lot of people hugged and shook hands. Many personal greetings and words of thanksgiving were shared. Smiles on faces and laughter was all around. The children went home as better players and encouraged to be better people. You could see they had fun. My kids can't wait until next year. Maybe I was oblivious to the factions and back biting. Maybe some kids and parents did go home mad because the grass and their uni's weren't the right color. Perhaps I missed the complaining because there wasn't enough money. Maybe I just wasn't paying attention. If only church was this fun. Some how I think God had a church in mind more like Little League than the current popular version that is being avoided by vast segments of our population. See pictures of the kids fun at my photo website: http://homepage.mac.com/stevenevans/PhotoAlbum5.html