DNA of Fatherhood Failure

This weekend Ethan's baseball team was in a huge tournament. On Sunday morning he played terribly at 3B, the worst since t-ball.

As Amy and I processed through we came to the conclusion that he was not ready. He has been a pitching more than he has in the past. In his league most kids can't hit his team's pitching and when they do they're late. That means most balls go to the right side of the infield. Prior to Sunday he had one fielding opportunity in the previous 16 games. On Sunday he got two hot shots back to back.

He was not ready.

At first I thought, "This is why the team needs more practice." Then it hit me. I was projecting.

I realized that Ethan had asked me a number of times to hit him grounders. I said no.

I was too tired.

I was too distracted.

I was too busy.

There was too much going on and I needed to decompress.

My son was not ready because I said, "no".

This won't happen again. The DNA of a fatherhood failure has been discovered, it is the all consuming, "I". It is engaged when our own comforts are placed ahead of our children. This is not to say that our children are to be the center around which we revolve our lives. We are however to engage them and enter into their joys and loves.

From here on out, my son won't have a dad that says he's too tired, distracted, or busy. Life is busy. God is calling our family to launch a movement. My son and my daughter cannot be sacrificed on that altar though. This is a wake up call that had minimum consequences.

I pray that I don't need another one of these.