Perfection
n Brooklyn, New York, Chush is a
school that caters to learning disabled children. Some children remain in Chush
for their entire school career, while others can be mainstreamed into
conventional schools. At a Chush fundraising dinner, the father of a Chush
child delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended.
After extolling the school and its dedicated staff, he
cried out, "Where is the perfection in my son, Shay? Everything God does is
done with perfection. But my child cannot understand things as other children
do. My child cannot remember facts and figures as other children do. Where is
God's perfection?"
The audience was shocked by the question, pained by
the father's anguish, and stilled by the piercing query. "I believe," the
father answered, "that when God brings a child like this into the world, the
perfection that seeks is in the way people react to this child." He then told
the following story about his son, Shay.
One afternoon, Shay and his father 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 his son was not at all athletic and
that most boys would not want him on their team.
But Shay's father understood that if his son was
chosen to play it would give him a comfortable sense of belonging. Shay's
father approached one of the boys in 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."
Shay's father was ecstatic as Shay smiled broadly.
Shay was told to put on a glove and go out to play short center field. In the
bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still behind
by three. In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shay's team scored again and now
had two outs and the bases loaded with the potential winning run on base. Shay
was scheduled to be up. 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 it was all but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the
bat properly, let alone hit with it. However, as Shay stepped up to the plate,
the pitcher moved a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay should at least
be able to make contact.
The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily--and
missed. One of Shay's teammates came up to Shay and, together, they held the
bat and faced the pitcher waiting for the next pitch. The pitcher again took a
few steps forward to toss the ball softly toward Shay. As the pitch came in,
Shay and his teammate swung at the ball and together they 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 run to first. He scampered down the
baseline, wide-eyed and startled. By the time he reached first base, the right
fielder had the ball. He could have thrown the ball to the second baseman who
would tag out Shay, who was still running. But the right fielder understood
what the pitcher's intentions were, so he threw the ball high and far over the
third baseman's head.
Everyone yelled, "Run to second, run to second!" 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!" As
Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams ran behind him screaming, "Shay,
run home!"
Shay ran home, stepped on home plate and all 18 boys
lifted him on their shoulders and made him the hero, as he had just hit a
"grand slam" and won the game for his team.
"That day," said the father softly, with tears now
rolling down his face, "those 18 boys reached their level of God's
perfection."