Ball Park Angels

Hi All!  Once again, it's gratitude Friday!  I am sharing with you a page from my Gratitude Journal; this happens to be one of my very favorite writings.  When we take the time to consider all of the wonderful blessings in our lives, we can't help but awaken the spirit of gratitude.  

"Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble."  Peter 3:8

It’s true what they say – a little bit of compassion goes a long way!  My reflective mood today had me thinking about the many times that people showed compassion towards Malachi and our family.  It is not easy taking Malachi out and into the world. Physically, it’s a challenge to carry and coordinate all of the life-sustaining equipment that must travel with him.  Additionally, Malachi doesn't have the muscle strength to sit-up for any length of time; he can only sit for an hour before we need to find somewhere to lay him down to rest.  Given all of that, our family rallies and rises above the challenges to ensure that Malachi’s social needs are met.  One stand-out moment that highlights compassion was our family outing to White Sox Park on July 4, 2008.  My boys are big Sox fans!  That afternoon, the Sox were playing the Oakland A’s.  We had never taken Malachi to the ball park before, so it was a new adventure for our family.  We were challenged with trying to figure out where we would lay him down when he needed to rest.  I called the ball park a few days before to see if they could accommodate our special needs.  Hospitality told us that Malachi would be welcome to retire in a private room reserved for in the event that someone were to get ill.  The room had a single bed and was separate from the ball park itself which meant that once he retired, he would not be able to see any more of the game.  Although I was disappointed that Malachi and I would need to separate from the rest of the family at some point and not finish the game, I accepted the kind offer.  However, once we got to the ball park, things unfolded quite differently.   Once we got to our seating section, the Chicago Fire Department Paramedics came over and asked if we would need a stretcher for Malachi to lie down.  Malachi was able to lie down the entire game AND see it to the very end!  What a God-send!  One little boy came over and gave Malachi a baseball that he caught and another child gave him a Sox baseball cap to keep.  And the icing on the cake- Sox win!!!

When we remove the barriers that block our heart, we give a very valuable gift to someone in need.  That gift is compassion.   Thank you, God, for sending your son, Jesus, to model compassion to the world.