Here is a post I created this summer, but I used part of this story in my sermon last weekend about being about the Father's business. I figured I would re-post it at the top of the blog so you can read a little bit more about it. Enjoy!
Also, watch the video I used for the sermon describing these events at the bottom (or click here), with some footage of Micah and me.
Also, watch the video I used for the sermon describing these events at the bottom (or click here), with some footage of Micah and me.
So I think I can safely say, that in the last 3 1/2 years of being a dad, aside from the actual births themselves, August 1st was my favorite dad night to date. Katie and I took Micah to his first Dodger game. It's funny, maybe, when you think about it, but let me first describe the event and then tell you why it pales in comparison to other "dad moments" so far, because let me tell you, making the choice to take your 3 year old son to a baseball game poses many questions/dilemmas....1) Patience and Boredom. Can he sit through a 3 hour event in an uncomfortable seat to watch what many (including probably most 3 year olds) would consider a "slow game?" Sure, some suggest "just give him lots of treats and candy and he'll be content...pry won't even care about the game!" But let me tell you what sort of heightened problems arise when you give "lots of treats and candy" to a 3 year old and then tell him he has to sit still for 3 hours. Yeah right!
2) Frustration. Let's face it, mom and dad are Dodger fans, we just acquired Manny and Blake, we're going to watch what happened to be Manny's first game, and we're playing the D'backs. Bedtime is usually 7pm, game gets over at 11pm. What if he gets whiney? What if he gets bored? What if he doesn't care to watch the game and lets everyone in our section know it? This is the risk we take as parents/Dodger fans.
3) Money. It's a long drive to LA. With gas, snacks, tickets, and parking, you want it to be worth the money (and time). Is he gonna want to bail after 2 innings?
4) Indifference. Sure, at the end of the day, the trip may just be for mom and dad to take some pics and log it in the ol' journal as "Micah's first Dodger game." Do we really care if he just eats Cracker Jacks and peanuts all night and could care less? Not really. At the end of the day, we just don't want fits, crying, or whining. We'll accept a trial-less night, even if he has no interest in the game, as a success. Although deep down, yeah, we wan't him to enjoy the game.
So let me just tell you why I, as a dad/Dodger fan, was so elated over my night with my wife and oldest son at Dodger Stadium on Friday night.
First of all, you have to understand that ever since we bought Micah a Dodger hat, he wakes up nearly every morning and comes into our bedroom while we're still in bed wearing his Dodger hat. He wears that thing non-stop. He has been so intrigued with the Dodgers on TV (we have the COX MLB Extra Innings dealio), and loves when Katie, Liam, and I wear our hats or jerseys so we can all match.
To make everything even more fun, a good friend of ours from LA worked at an high end apartment complex where 3 Dodgers lived (Russel Martin, Andre Ethier, and Matt Kemp). One day, Russel Martin (who happens to be our young All Star stud catcher) gave CJ an equipment bag and a baseball. Since then I've given the ball to Micah and told him that one of the Dodgers gave it to him. He wanted to know which one, so I told him it was Russel, and he always asks to see Russel on TV. He gets SO excited when he sees him and always double checks with me that "he's the one that gave me the ball?"
So ANYWAY, the days leading up to the game Micah is amped (which doesn't still mean it will be an amazing night, mood wise for him if he gets cranky). We stopped at WalMart to get him a Dodger shirt (which he was SO stoked on). When we pulled up to the Stadium he was mesmerized with the image (and sound, we got their during the 1st inning) of the Stadium. As we got into the halls of Dodger Stadium and got our first glimpse of the field, his eyes LIT UP and he got the most giddy, excited laughter to see the field. The whole night, he was asking for Russel, screaming "Go Russel!!" and engaging in all the other chants, like "Let's Go, Dodgers *clap clap clap clap clap*" and "Charge!!!" and of course, "Manny, Manny, Manny." He was blown away. It was just one of those nights, complete, even, with a tribute to Vin Scully (our Hall of Fame announcer of 59 years...and no, that's not a typo...59 years, going all the way back to the Brooklyn years) and probably 2 minutes worth of standing ovation for him in the 2nd inning as he took a humble wave and bow to the grateful crowd.
By the end of the night, after yes, eating lots of treats and candy, enjoying his first Dodger Dog, and singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" for the first time (which he really got into, especially the shout for the Dodgers and the "1, 2, 3 strikes yer out" bit, as shown in the picture on the right, which, by the way, you can see a blown up version of all these pictures by clicking on them), he just didn't want to go home. And since that day, he wore his Dodger shirt to bed as well as for the next 3 days (but yes, we washed it). And of course this was accompanied with his hat. He has since asked a few times to go to a game soon, and still does the chants and tells everyone that he saw Russel Martin and Manny. August 12th I'm going to the game to get him a Joe Beimel Bobblehead (he loves Bobbleheads), and we're now planning our next trip for the end of the month to the Stadium since we know it was a successful night.
At the end of the day, upon talking with some friends about this "best night" and why a night like this was such a big deal, I think it got down to the fact that other events in Micah's life, like his first words, first steps, things like that, of course are huge, but seeing him get excited and so fired up over something that dad gets excited about is what made it so unique. It gave me a tangible outlook on how God, my Father, must feel when I am "about His business" like Jesus was at the age of 12. No doubt God the Father gets stoked when we take our first steps and speak our first words as Christians, I don't want to downplay that or downplay my own son's most important of milestones in his short life, but I have to believe that when God sees us living out the things that He is excited about (Isaiah 61), that has to just melt His heart.
Seeing Micah be so excited about the Dodgers, cheer for them, cheer the teammates, sing the songs, chant the chants, and be mezmerized by the Stadium itself, has to be one of the closest things I can relate to God being my Father and seeing me get excited about being an active, pursuant child of God seeking after the things in my Father's heart, especially when it gets down to even the specific event itself: cheering on my team as a friend and pastor and wanting my fellow brothers and sisters to win, helping them to succeed and encouraging them in their life and goals.
Sure, I know it gets better than a Dodger game (especially if they would have actually won the game), but this is my first of hopefully many of these moments in life.
At the end of the day, upon talking with some friends about this "best night" and why a night like this was such a big deal, I think it got down to the fact that other events in Micah's life, like his first words, first steps, things like that, of course are huge, but seeing him get excited and so fired up over something that dad gets excited about is what made it so unique. It gave me a tangible outlook on how God, my Father, must feel when I am "about His business" like Jesus was at the age of 12. No doubt God the Father gets stoked when we take our first steps and speak our first words as Christians, I don't want to downplay that or downplay my own son's most important of milestones in his short life, but I have to believe that when God sees us living out the things that He is excited about (Isaiah 61), that has to just melt His heart.
Seeing Micah be so excited about the Dodgers, cheer for them, cheer the teammates, sing the songs, chant the chants, and be mezmerized by the Stadium itself, has to be one of the closest things I can relate to God being my Father and seeing me get excited about being an active, pursuant child of God seeking after the things in my Father's heart, especially when it gets down to even the specific event itself: cheering on my team as a friend and pastor and wanting my fellow brothers and sisters to win, helping them to succeed and encouraging them in their life and goals.
Sure, I know it gets better than a Dodger game (especially if they would have actually won the game), but this is my first of hopefully many of these moments in life.
