Shay, Shay, Shay!

At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves
learning disabled children, the father of one of
the 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:

"When not interfered with by outside influences,
everything nature 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 the natural order
of things in my son?"

The audience was stilled by the query. The father
continued. "I believe that when a child like Shay,
physically and mentally handicapped comes into
the world, an opportunity to realize true
heavenly grace presents itself, and it comes,
in the way other people treat that child."

Then he told the following story:

Shay and his father had walked past a park where
some boys Shay knew were playing baseball. Shay
asked, "Do you think they'll let me play?" Shay's
father knew that most of the boys would not want
someone like Shay on their team, but the father
also understood that if his son were allowed
to play, it would give him a much-needed sense
of belonging and some confidence to
be accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.

Shay's father approached one of the boys on the
field and asked if Shay could play, not expecting
much. The boy looked around for guidance and a
few boys nodded approval, why not? So he took
matters into his own hands and said, "We're
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 in to bat in the ninth inning."

Shay struggled over to the team's bench and put
on a team shirt with a broad smile. His Father
had watery eyes but warmth in his heart.
The boys saw the father's joy at his son being
accepted and were evedently touched by it.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team
scored a few runs but was still behind by three.
In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove
and played in the right field. Even though no
hits came his way, he was obviously ecstatic just
to be in the game and 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 the bases loaded, the
potential winning run was on base and Shay was
scheduled to be next at bat. At this juncture,
do they let Shay bat and give away their chance
to win the game? Surprisingly, Shay was given
the bat. Everyone knew that a hit was all but
impossible 'cause 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, recognizing the other team
had put winning aside for this moment in Shay's
life, moved in 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 towards Shay. As the pitch
came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow
ground ball right back to the pitcher. The game
would now be over, but the pitcher picked up the
soft grounder and could have easily thrown the
ball to the first baseman. Shay would have been
out and that would have been the end of the game.


Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over
the head of the first baseman, out of reach of all
team mates. Everyone from the stands and
both teams started yelling, "Shay, run to first!
Run to first, Shay!" Never in his life had Shay ever
ran that far but he made it to first base. He
scampered down the baseline, wide-eyed and startled.

Everyone yelled, "Run to second, run to second!"
Catching his breath, Shay awkwardly ran towards
second, gleaming and struggling to make it to second
base. By the time Shay rounded towards second base,
the right fielder had the ball, the smallest guy on
their team, who had a chance to be the hero
for his team for the first time. He could have thrown
the ball to the second-baseman for the tag, but he
understood the pitchers intentions and he too
intentionally threw the ball high and far over the
second-baseman's head. Shay ran toward second base
deliriously as the runners ahead of him circled the
bases toward home. All were screaming, "Shay, Shay,
Shay, all the Way Shay!"

Shay reached second base, the opposing shortstop ran
to help him and turned him in the direction of third
base, and shouted, "Run to third! Shay, run to third"
As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams
and those watching were on their feet screaming,
"Shay, run home!" Shay ran toward home as hard as he
could. He stepped on the plate, and was cheered as
the hero who hit the "grand slam" and won 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 true love and divine grace
into this world."

Shay didn't make it to another summer and died that
winter, having never forgotten being the hero and
making his Father so happy and coming home
to see his Mother tearfully embrace her little
hero of the day!

NOW, the question is - What would YOU have done?
We live in a hard cold world. Most people couldn't
care less about the feelings of others.
I have to admit that when I read this story about
Shay I was touched by it and would like to think
that I can be more thoughtful of the feelings of
others as I go about my daily routine life in the
future. How about YOU?