Dad loved softball. He loved teaching me to slap hit and Julia to pitch. If you never saw Dad on the field, you missed an amazing/hilarious side of him. From connecting with the girls he coached to throwing an occasional hissy fit at the refs, Dad was all in to sports.
For years, he took Julia to a pitching coach. She could pitch almost 50mph before she fractured her back. Right after Dad died, Julia was cleared by the doctor to play softball again. We dabbled in it for a few months, but tonight, we went back to the pitching coach. She was nervous about doing her best. I was nervous about helping her do her best. I'm her catcher now. I'm her coach. I really don't want to blow this.
We get to the pitching coach in Dothan and he's watching Julia and another girl pitch. I start to catch Julia and it's going ok. I look over now and then and watch the guy next to me coach his daughter. I think "Wait, this isn't my job. This is Dad's." It's not really a pity party, just a sad realization. The guy next to me asks where I'm from and what our last name is. I say we are the Whitt's from Abbeville. One thing leads to another and we discover he was Julia's first fall ball coach and knew Dad! I even remember him!bHe asks "How old are you?" I say I'm 16. He asks about my future plans and I tell him I want to go to auburn, become a teacher, and eventually be a missionary to India because God has given me a heart for that nation. I think I surprise him a bit.
I was greatly encouraged tonight by two men who I barely know. They both asked "How's your family." We are great. Like, really. It's tough some days and I get selfish many days, but God is so faithful! He is showing me that through all this, not only do I get to minister through my blog, but also on the softball field. My dad and sister were well known for her pitching. And now people watch to see how we are doing and what we will do next. I get to share Christ's faithfulness in both my words and my actions. That feeling of doing something eternal is like nothing in the world. I am so blessed because not only do I get to play softball with my sister, but I get to minister to strangers at the same time. I'm amazed at the plans God has because I know I'm only seeing the tip of the iceberg.
(In the picture below Dad's trying to tell me how to steal. "Watch the pitcher, and when she turns her back, run. If the catcher throws it, run. Don't get trapped, though." Me: "Dad, I got it. I know how to steal." I'm not a know it all, but he had already taught me everything he knew!)
I have seen your Daddy stand JUST like that many, many times. That was the Mike Whitt stance.
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