Danielle

Brooks from our congregation sent me this e-mail. I would

like to share it with you.

"In

Brooklyn, New York, Chush is a school that caters to

learning-disabled children. Some children remain in Chush

for their entire school careers, while others can be

main-streamed into conventional schools.

"At a

Chush fund-raising 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 Shaya? 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 He

seeks is in the way people react to this child.' He then

told the following story about his son Shaya:

"'One

afternoon Shaya and his father walked past a park where

some boys Shaya knew were playing baseball. Shaya asked,

`Do you think they will let me play?' Shaya's father knew

that his son was not at all athletic and that most boys

would not want him on their team. But Shaya's father

understood that if his son were chosen to play it would

give him a comfortable sense of belonging.

"'Shaya's

father approached one of the boys in the field and asked

if Shaya 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.'

"'Shaya's

father was ecstatic as Shaya smiled broadly. Shaya was

told to put on a glove and go out to play short center

field. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shaya's team

scored a few runs but was still behind by three. In the

bottom of the ninth inning, Shaya's team scored again and

now with two outs and the bases loaded with the potential

winning run on base, Shaya was scheduled to be up. Would

the team actually let Shaya bat at this juncture and give

away their chance to win the game?

"'Surprisingly,

Shaya was given the bat. Everyone knew that it was all

but impossible because Shaya didn't even know how to hold

the bat properly, let alone hit with it. However, as

Shaya stepped up to the plate, the pitcher moved a few

steps to lob the ball in softly so Shaya should at least

be able to make contact. The first pitch came in and

Shaya swung clumsily and missed.-

"'One

of Shaya's team-mates came up to Shaya 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 Shaya. As the pitch came in, Shaya

and his team-mate swung the bat 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. Shaya 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, `Shaya, run to first. Run to

first!' Never in his life had Shaya 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 Shaya, 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!'

"'Shaya

ran towards second base as the runners ahead of him

deliriously circled the bases towards home. As Shaya

reached second base, the opposing short stop ran to him,

turned him in the direction of third base and shouted,

`Run to third.' As Shaya rounded third, the boys from

both teams ran behind him screaming, `Shaya run home.'

"'Shaya

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.'

To the

world you may be one person, but to one person you may be

the world. It is truly amazing what we can do when we

reach the level of "God's perfection." I

strongly believe that here on the south side of Atlanta

we are reaching this goal of God's perfection in unity

among the pastors and our churches. On Sunday, March 5,

we will be conducting a South Metro Unity Service at 6

p.m. at the Atlanta City Church on Ga. Highway 138.

It will be

a service where we can all experience what can happen

when we get out of our "differences" and

celebrate our love of God and what we share in common.

Come and experience what God can do with you and me.

The Rev. Dr

Knox Herndon is the pastor of His House Community Church,

a substitute school teacher in the Fayette County school

system and a retired Army chaplain. The church is at The

American Legion Log Cabin, Fayetteville. 770-719-2365;

e-mail [email protected]