Home Run! ... sort of ...

(originally posted November 3, 2009)

Yesterday we played wiffle ball. Students, teachers and administrators. We simply stopped classes and went outside in the sunshine to enjoy the afternoon and one another. What a pick day! We could not have asked for anything better.

Now mind you, we don't do this often, but it will usually take place once a semester. One could almost sense the outpouring of jealousy from the occupants of the school buses that zipped by on the state road above our play field.

What was fun is that you cannot take wiffle ball seriously. First, it's almost impossible to pitch a wiffle ball with any consistency. The slightest breeze will carry it into the next county. Second, no degree of baseball skill aids in batting. The poorest batter can get a great hit and the one who swings hardest can wiff his way into a quick out. I mean, did anybody see my second At Bat? ... sad ... Finally, age and athleticism are irrelevant. All one needs is a good attitude and a willingness to miss the pitch for the sake of the fun; our prime example being Mr. Morris with Josh G as his pinch runner!

Aside from who got how many runs, the most important outcome was community. We work hard at Wildwood. We spend hours reading and writing and wrestling with ideas and giving presentations on the work we have done. But we also play, because in Christ, we weren't saved to be labor slaves. G.K. Chesterton claims, "The true object of all human life is play. Earth is a task garden; heaven is a playground." In Christ, alienation is removed and we are restored to enjoy God and the delight of one another's company.

Hitting a wiffle ball ( ... or trying to... ) can be as much Christian education as hitting the books.