But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.-Luke 18:16

The Homerun 

Little David was the smallest boy in his class.

He would always try to fit in with his classmates.

He was very anxious to be liked by them.

David wasn't the smartest, or the funniest boy in class, and he wasn't even all that good at sports.

Poor David was not very popular either; in fact, he was often the object of many cruel jokes.

David was not very happy at school.

But he wasn't always sad either, he had a wonderful family who loved him very much, and thought he was just perfect the way God made him.

Some of his favorite times were when he went to Sunday school. There he had many friends, and nobody picked on him.

David often prayed to God, and told him that he would do anything if he could be accepted at school.

The next day some of the big boys came up to him and handed him a note signed with his own name. They said, "Hey, David, go give this note to the new girl in class, if you do, we can be friends!"

David was so happy! This must be the answer to his prayers!

He didn't hesitate, but went straight to the new girl and handed her the note.

She smiled at him, thinking that she had made a new friend. She too, had been lonely since coming to a new school.

But, as she read the note, the little girls' eyes filled with tears, and she ran away crying!

David was confused- what was wrong? What did the note say? He heard the sound of laughter behind him, and turned to look. Those big boys were doubled over, laughing so hard at the joke they had played on David and the new girl.

The note was lying on the ground where the girl had dropped it as she ran away, so David picked it up and read it.

Those boys had written a very mean and hurtful thing. David felt terrible, because he had been a part of that nasty joke. He walked over to the boys, wanting to tell them that the note was not a nice thing to do, but as he came close to them, they laughed again, and told him to get lost.

That night, David prayed again, "Dear Jesus," he said,” I am so sorry that I gave that note to the new girl and hurt her feelings, but I really want to be accepted by the other boys and girls at school."

The next day at school, David saw the new girl and started walking towards her, but when she saw him, she turned and walked away.

"Wait!" called David, "Please wait! I am very sorry about that note."

The girl stopped, and she listened as he told her what had happened. He also told her again that he was very, very sorry.

She told him that her name was Ann, and that she felt better now that David had explained everything to her.

Later, in school, David was approached by some of the big boys again.

They told him that they wanted him to help them cheat on the history test that day.

They told him they would be his friends if he helped.

Now David thought for a moment.

He did want to be their friends.

He would not be hurting anyone this time.

So, he agreed.

David was given a cheat sheet to copy answers from before class.

During the test, he was supposed to find the answers and show them to the other boys.

As the test was being given, David did what he was told.

All was going well.

As David pulled out the cheat sheet to look at it, he felt a hand on his shoulder.

It was his teacher.

The teacher removed him from class and he was sent to the principal’s office.

"Oh no!” he thought, "What have I done!"

Despite all this, he would not tell on the big boys who put him up to this.

He was given a week of detention and his parents were notified.

David was punished by his disappointed parents that week as well.

He served his detention.

He again asked God what he must do to gain favor with the big boys.

As usual, the big boys continued to make fun and tease him.

Ann saw the big boys teasing him.

She went over to David and asked,” Why do you want those boys to be your friends? They are not very nice at all!"

David said, “They’re really popular and cool, and I want to be like them."

Ann told him he was wrong and that those boys were bad news and only cool in their own eyes.

As time went by, David and Ann became good friends.

Spring arrived and that meant baseball season.

David loved baseball!

He was not very good, but he loved it all the same.

David joined the school team.

He was usually not playing, and when he finally got a chance to play, his team was very far ahead in the game.

As the season went on, the school team was doing very well.

In fact they did so well they ended up in the city finals.

The day for the big game came.

When David arrived at the game he saw his coach very troubled.

David soon learned that there had been a bug going around and that four of the team’s best players were out with the flu.

David also learned that he would be starting.

His nerves were jumpy, and he was very excited!

He prayed to God to help him do well.

The game was very close.

David struck out all three times at bat.

The other team’s pitcher was big for his age.

In fact he was big for boys even older than himself.

David was terrified every time the pitch came over the plate.

He was so afraid of being hit with the ball.

David’s family came to watch the game and Ann was there too.

The game reached the bottom of the ninth inning.

It was a tie game.

David was hoping he would not have to bat.

The first batter popped out.

The second batter grounded out to second.

The next batter hit a single to left.

The next batter hit a line drive to left-center.

The next batter laid down a perfect bunt and reached first safely.

So, here it was the bottom of the ninth, bases loaded and two outs.

David was the next batter.

"Oh God", he thought, "Please let me get a homerun now and be a hero so everyone will like me!"

As David stood in the batter’s box, the first pitch came in.

David closed his eyes and swung wildly at the ball, missing by a mile.

"Oh no!” thought David, "don’t let me strike out again, please God, help me!"

The next pitch came in, it was high and fast.

David tried to catch up to the fast ball, but was late in swinging.

Now there were two strikes on him.

David stood there nervously. "Oh, please God, help me!” he thought,” help me win the game!"

Suddenly he thought about his parents and Ann.

He also thought about how much winning would mean to his school. He no longer thought of being accepted by the other children.

He realized in that split second how wrong he had been in seeking their approval and friendship.

"Oh, please God, help," he prayed yet again.

And a voice in David’s head said “I will help you, stand there and wait”.

David was surprised.

The next pitch came in, a high fastball again.

David stood there and didn’t swing.

“Ball one!” called the ump.

The next pitch came over; it bounced in front of the plate.

“Ball two!” cried the ump.

Suddenly the crowd was cheering David.

But he wasn’t doing anything.

The next pitch came in; it was very high and inside.

The ball whizzed by David’s head as he fell backward.

“Ball three!” shouted the ump.

The crowd was going crazy.

David realized that he was a pitch away from being walked to first and forcing the winning run home.

"Please, please, God!"

Sweat trickled down his forehead.

Here it came, the final pitch, it was a looping curveball.

As the ball came in wide, it started curving towards the plate.

As the ball hit the catcher’s mitt, there seemed to be an eternity waiting for the ump to make the call.

“Ball four!” he cried.

The crowd went nuts.

The winning run crossed the plate.

The team picked David up on their shoulders and celebrated.

Everyone was cheering David.

As David was walking over to his parents and Ann, the big boys came over to him.

“Hey David,” they said “why don’t you come downtown with us to celebrate?”

“No thanks, I’d rather not” David said and he walked away.

So David learned a good lesson here.

God always answers prayers, but he learned that sometimes the answer is no.

David thought a homerun would make him a hero.

But God said that a walk would be enough.

He also learned that real friends will love you just the way you are.

Seek to please God and not man, and God will bless you.

The end

Matthew Abrahams