The Divine Plan 

At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves learning-disabled
children, the father of one of the school's students delivered a speech
that would never be forgotten by all who attended. 

After extolling the school and its dedicated staff, he offered a
question. "Everything God does is done with perfection. Yet, my son,
Shay, cannot learn things as other children do. He cannot understand
things as other children do. Where is God's plan reflected in my son?"
The audience was stilled by the query. 

The father continued. "I believe," the father answered, "that when God
brings a child like Shay into the world, an opportunity to realize the
Divine Plan presents itself. And it comes in the way people treat that
child." Then, he told the following story: 

Shay and he were walking 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 most boys would not want him on their team. But
the father understood that if his son were allowed to play it would give
him a much-needed sense of belonging. 

Shay's father approached one of the boys on 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." 

In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but
was still behind by three. At the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a
glove and played in the outfield. Although no hits came his way, he was
obviously ecstatic just to be on the field, grinning from ear to ear as
his father waved to him from the stands. 

In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shay's team scored again. Now, with
two outs and bases loaded, the potential winning run was on base. Shay
was scheduled to be the next at-bat. 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 a hit was all
but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat
properly, much less connect with the ball. However, as Shay stepped up
to the plate, the pitcher moved a few steps to lob the ball in softly so
Shay could at least be able to make contact. 

The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed. The pitcher
again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly toward Shay. As
the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and 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 ever made it to first base. He scampered down
the baseline, wide-eyed and startled. Everyone yelled "Run to second,
run to second!" By the time Shay was rounding first base, the right
fielder had the ball. He could have thrown the ball to the second
baseman for a tag. But the right fielder understood what the pitcher's
intentions had been, so he threw the ball high and far over the third
baseman's head. 

Shay ran toward second base as the runners ahead of him deliriously
circled the bases toward 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
were screaming, "Shay! Run home!" Shay ran home, stepped on home plate
and was cheered as the hero, for hitting a "grand slam" and winning the
game for his team. 

"That day," said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face,
"the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of the Divine Plan into
this world." ------ 

And now, a footnote to the story. We all send thousands of jokes through
e-mail without a second thought, but when it comes to sending messages
regarding life choices, people think twice about sharing. The crude,
vulgar, and sometimes the obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but
public discussion of decency is too often suppressed in school and the
workplace.