A Dark Green Dryer Ball, an 8-Yr-Old, and a New Easter Tradition?

I’ve always loved baseball. But my relationship with baseball has had some ups and downs in my life. As a little kid I remember yearning to play catch with my dad. But, like many dads of his era, my dad was a busy guy. Raising 8 kids and being a pastor of sometimes 3 churches at once was a busy endeavor. I honestly don’t remember playing catch with my dad. And so, when my kids got old enough, I vowed I would play catch with them whenever they wanted to. And, that we did. But at first it didn’t quite go as planned!

When Ben (my oldest son) was 8, I remember him asking me to play catch one morning before school. I have to admit, I was a little distracted. I had a bulletin to put together and about 5 appointments on my calendar for the day. But, I was determined to be a better dad than my dad, so I said yes. We went out into the front yard, and if I had been paying attention, I would have noticed that the sun was out. But I was distracted, right? So I threw Ben the ball, and as he was squinting into the sun, the ball missed his glove and chipped his front tooth. Talk about guilt! But, Ben forgave me and eventually he asked me to play catch again. This time he wore a cap!

Skip to two days ago.  Well, first about 3 years ago. Emerson was around 5 and Cassie and Devon tried their hand at getting Emerson, my granddaughter, into baseball. It was fun to watch, but in all reality, Emerson just didn’t take to it. She was more interested in the bugs in the outfield.   

At least that’s what I thought, until this Monday, right after school. Emerson had been away for spring break, so after school she meandered back to our place. She missed us. She kind of sat on our step, just kind of sitting there, so I asked, “Well, Emerson, is there anything you’d like to do?” 

And with a twinkle in her eye she said, “Well, I kind of wanted to play catch?”

I was almost in shock. Is this our Emerson?

“You mean baseball?”

“Sure”

And so, we went around trying to find her glove. No luck. We couldn’t even find a baseball! And we were about to give up, when I went by the laundry room and noticed a dark green dryer ball. I showed it to Emerson, and asked, “Well, what do you think? Do you think we could use this?” I threw it to her, and miraculously she caught it! “This is perfect!” She spoke. “It doesn’t even hurt! We don’t even need a glove!” And so off to the back yard we went, and, after adjusting to the evening sun, we started playing catch!

Now let me tell you something, this was a revelation! First of all, it was fun! There was absolutely no fear for Emerson of being hurt, and no fear for me that I might knock her tooth out! Second, Emerson talked to me the whole time (30 minutes!). I learned more about her playing catch than I have ever learned from her. We even started talking about something she calls “feels”! It was incredible. There is something about playing catch with another person that is incredibly healing. I noticed, for instance, that when she was frustrated with a friend, she really burned that dark green dryer ball into me! I was sure glad it wasn’t a baseball!  And when we dropped the ball, because it was a dryer ball and not a baseball, there wasn’t the serious spirit that often surround “the game.”  It was just a dark green dryer ball after all! As we parted ways that evening, I turned to her and said, “you want to do this tomorrow?”   And she said, “sure!”

The next day, I came home a little late, but guess who was there waiting for me on the step? Emerson. I was kind of surprised. I said, “Well, Emerson, what are you doing here?”  And she said with a great big smile, “You said you wanted to play with me today.” And then she pulled out the dark green dryer ball. “I’m ready, how about you?”

And I was! By the way, Cyndy mentioned to me that night that Emerson had been over several times looking for me. Finally, she asked Emerson what she wanted from Pops. And she said, “Well, he said he wanted to play!”

On a more serious note, this season of life has been tough on me. I’m guessing it’s been tough on you too! I feel like I’m carrying such a heavy loud these days. The world just seems heavier out there. So much pain. So many people hurting. It seems that some just want to “do harm” in this world. And for those of us who are dedicated to “doing no harm,” well, it’s just kind of kicks all of us in the teeth! I think I know how Ben felt! I have to admit to you that I come home sometimes feeling like I’m carrying the world.

But something happens to me when I play catch with Emerson with a dark green dryer ball. My load is lifted, and I find that hope starts sneaking her way into my heart. I laugh more. I ease up a bit. I heal!

It makes me think that maybe all of us should start playing catch with a dark green dryer ball 15 minutes after work. Maybe our marriages would be better. Maybe we’d be better neighbors if we quit throwing our neighbors dog poop across the fence and, instead, tried a dryer ball! Maybe if Republicans and Democrats did it, our nation would reunite! Maybe if we traded in our swords and weapons and issued out dryer balls, the world would find its way to a peace that passes all understanding...a peace we all need!

Your friend and pastor, starting a new Easter tradition that starts not with an Easter egg, but dark green dryer ball, Brook