For book/ebook authors, publishers, & self-publishers

A Little Bit Of Run Support-A Benefit For Homeless Veterans by Michele Huey

A LITTLE BIT OF RUN SUPPORT

Therefore, encourage one another and build each other up. – 1 Thessalonians 5:11 (NIV)

During our son David’s last year to play college baseball, my husband and I were on the road from February until May, catching as many games as we could. So we got to know and appreciate the boys who backed up David when he pitched. They were an amazing group of young men.

We heard apologies when an error was committed, allowing a runner on base. We witnessed the disappointment they felt when they weren’t producing the hits needed to win and when they knew they weren’t playing up to their potential.

Yes, there were slumps—in batting and in pitching. But when a player was down, others encouraged him and took up the slack. When David came off the mound after a bad inning, the guys lined up to give him high fives and let him know they still believed in him.

And even though he was disappointed in his performance and upset with himself, I was proud of the way he encouraged the other young pitchers when they, too, struggled. No one understands what a pitcher feels coming off the mound after an inning when he’s given up runs, extra-base hits, walks, or hit batters. No one, except someone who has experienced it.

For months before the season started, I prayed for David to have his best year ever. I was thinking ERAs, wins, and all those stats that show little how much he matured as a ballplayer, a leader, and a man. I realize now how self-centered that prayer really was.

In spite of myself, God answered my prayer. Not in impressive stats for David, but in blessing the team as a whole—and in opening my eyes to the reality that David is having his best year ever—because he is on a team that knows what a team is and acts as one. No egos taint the dugout. No self-serving attitudes strut around the field.

They all are stars who will take with them into life the lessons they’ve learned on the ball field and in the dugout—lessons they’ve taught me as I’ve watched them:

That it’s not about me, but about us. It’s not about being served and pampered and catered to, but about serving and loving and encouraging when the chips are down.

It’s saying, in action, “I believe in you” after a poor performance. It’s not about what you can do for me, but what I can do for you.

It’s about ignoring the pain and playing hurt because you know that others need you.

It’s about having a good attitude when the coach gives another guy the position for which you think you’re better qualified and for which you worked so hard.

It’s about letting pain and disappointment be the teachers they are meant to be and hone your character as good innings and victories cannot and will not. Our deepest pain and disappointment are usually the places where we can best help others.

“I knew if we gave David a little bit of run support,” said the second baseman after a playoff win, “he would be fine on the mound.”

A little bit of run support—isn’t that what we all need?

Dear God, help me to stop thinking about myself and open my eyes to those around me who can use “a little run support.” Amen.

– Michele Huey

Michele Huey appreciates the run support she’s received from many on her run to publication. Her debut novel, The Heart Remembers, released in March, currently enjoys a 5-star rating on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Goodreads. To lend run support to veterans, she’s donating a portion of the proceeds from the sales of autographed copies of The Heart Remembers, which is dedicated “to all who served in Vietnam,” to Tomorrows Hope, a transitional housing and service center in Coalport, Pa., that provides shelter and basic necessities to homeless veterans. More information is on her writers blog: http://tinyurl.com/35cjx29

Visit Michele’s website: www.michelethuey.com

Read her award-winning column: http://godmetea.blogspot.com/