signs of the time

My youngest son, Cooper, plays Single A baseball. This means there's a lot of coach involvement and various levels of ability...it also means they hit off a pitching machine.

Cooper loves baseball. And by loves, I don't just mean he's happy to win or likes to see his friends. It's more of an obsession. All the other kids are out there just happy to be playing and then there's Cooper. He's ramping up the excitement; he's the kid holding his hands up to signal how many outs there are; he's the kid doing his hot-shot move when he gets on base; he's the kid the does that little "stretching-with-the-bat" thing they do in the majors... OBSESSED. But last night, he really made me laugh...

He was playing catcher. Of course he had to be there in the mix - throwing off his helmet and doing a little trash talking. He even has the stance down - for seven that's pretty impressive (or maybe it's just because I'm his mother).

But then someone said to me, "What's Cooper doing with his hands?" We looked and realized, Cooper was giving hand signs to the pitcher. Remember - the pitcher is a machine. He's giving hand signals to a pitching machine. Very funny.

My bleacher neighbor jokingly said to me, "Did he paint his fingernails white too?" Hmmm...no, but it wouldn't have surprised me at this point.

What I love about this, besides just how darn cute he is, is how into it he is. He is out there giving his all to something that he loves. So focused, so intent on learning... that is such a good sign of the times.

Finding something we love to do is hard sometimes...finding a true calling, our vocation. Cooper may not grow up to be a pro player, and that's not the point. The point is - whatever we're doing give it our all. And if you don't love it...at least minimize the time you have to do it. I know we can't all love every aspect of our lives 24/7, but I know that God calls us to share love and peace and acceptance through our daily lives. We gotta like what we do, we gotta be invested in what we're doing in order for that to happen.

So....batter up! It's time to PLAY BALL!

"Many people mistake our work for our vocation. Our vocation is the love of Jesus." Mother Theresa