"It's not what you say...

...it's what people hear." Have you ever heard this phrase?

I learned a valuable lesson a couple nights ago that illustrates the truth of this statement.

On Monday night, I had a baseball game and YoungLife club after work. I needed to leave the game early due to YoungLife so in the middle of the game I told my kids that I needed to leave early to attend an "engagement." (Now don't ask why I used this huge word with 8-10 year old kids, but I'm synonymous for stuff like that -- stupid me) One of my kids -- let's call him "Nails" because that's the nickname I gave him -- only heard the word "engagement" and popped up in excitement and asked me "Coach B, are you getting married?" Without having time to respond, "Nails" proceeds to shout (very audibly) to the rest of his teammates -- "Guys, Coach B is getting married!" At this point, the dugout is in utter chaos. After a few minutes I was able to calm them down and, unfortunately, had to squelch their excitement over me getting married.

But it reminded me why I do what I do.

This is why I love coaching baseball. This is why I love working with kids. It's because they see life through another set of lenses. It's because they see life through the past 8-10 years, not the past 26 like me. It's because they cling to huge hopes and big dreams and in the process give me the courage to pursue my hopes and dreams. I don't remember much about being 10 years old, but I do remember growing up on the baseball diamond and learning many of life's important lessons under the hot Texas sun playing America's pasttime. What a true joy it is to teach the game of baseball to the generation of tomorrow!

This year's baseball season draws to a close tonight, but the memories of these 11 kids will not quickly fade. Each one of them has deeply touched my life in their own special way.