The Power of Playing Catch

http://youtu.be/HpxPcK0wL8I

Father’s Day was yesterday, but since I was trying to spend the day with my family, I’m just blogging this today. It’s a short but powerful story from ESPN of how Mark Schlereth, a former NFL player, used to spend time with his son, Daniel. After Mark talks about being around for his son despite being tired and in pain, ESPN brings Daniel–now a professional baseball player–onscreen. Mark is surprised, and both father and son choke up. You just might, too.

As the Wall Street Journal just noted, it’s hard to explain what exactly fathers do to strengthen their children. When it comes to their specific contributions, their value for a child is less immediately identifiable than a mother’s value. But here’s the thing: fathers, like mothers, are absolutely crucial to the healthy development of a child. You see this in the simple things, primarily, with fathers. Things like playing catch. Fathers do something powerful when they’re around their children and plugged in with them. They show their children, I think, a little picture of what God the Father is like: present, loving, strong.

Dads, never underestimate the value of the simple things.

I’m thankful for this short but moving video, and for a father of my own who never, to my recollection, turned down a game of catch. That’s a very simple, even prosaic, reality, but twenty years later, I can say that my own father’s involvement–simply throwing a baseball back and forth one summer night after another–meant the world to me then, and means the world to me now.