Last week, I wrote about how we Little League mothers were asked by our sons’ fathers if we would like to coach our nine-year-old boys in this, the last game of their season.  This was not, I might add, because our hubbies considered us knowledgeable.  This was payback for how we had questioned the way they had handled the team throughout the season.

In an effort not to follow their lead, we shuffled the positions.  The boys were thrilled.  The right-fielder moved to third base.  The utility player pitched.  Who knew what talent had gone unnoticed by the dads who never did anything unpredictable!  When Toby, a small lad who came in only when we were slaughtering the other team, asked to be catcher, we agreed.

Poor little guy couldn’t catch a pitch.  But that wasn’t the only problem.  When we moms noticed a bulge in his uniform behind his thigh, we realized his cup, a protective device for the groin, had slipped from his jock strap.  None of us felt comfortable addressing the problem, so we asked for some help from the dads…who obviously found this hysterical and something we “coach-wannabe’s” needed to handle ourselves.

Fine.  No problem.  I was appointed.  Between innings, I took Toby aside and asked him if he realized that something was caught in his pant leg. He did.  He even referred to it by name.

“Do you know what you’re supposed to do with your cup?” I asked.

He smiled and nodded. “Yes…but it won’t stay there.”

“Toby, it goes inside your jock strap.”

“But I don’t have one on.”

I could feel every dad’s cynical ear straining to hear.

“Well then, just…just…just stick it down inside your underpants.”

“I don’t have those on, either.”

With that, Toby traded places with the right fielder, Greg, who had never caught, either, but at least he had on a jock strap.

Leading effectively isn’t easy.  This coaching thing always had looked so simple from the bleachers. Even Toby probably could have managed better than we did.

The term “arm-chair quarterbacks” was created because of people like me.  Second-guessing decisions coaches make is one of my talents, and right now, with the K.C. Chiefs vying for a Super Bowl spot, I am in high gear.  The problem is, whenever I voice my objections, Dave explains to me why that decision was made…something I never considered.

I wonder how many of us do that with God.  We ask for a “yes,” but He has other plans. Please let me get that job.  Please heal my child.  Please let me meet the right guy/gal.  Please get me out of debt. Please fix this relationship.

We, lacking the infinite knowledge God has, think we know best, forgetting that God’s ways are not our ways, and many times, God’s silence forces us to get on our knees and realize that He is the only One who sees the big picture.  Isaiah 55:9, NIV (God speaking to the prophet Isaiah): As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.            He already knows who will win the Super Bowl.  I’m guessing He probably doesn’t care.  Players and fans on both sides are praying for a victory.  The only thing He wants is that we give Him the glory, no matter what.

As for Toby, I have no idea what became of him, but, no thanks to the dads, I imagine he still brags about his catching debut.  He has us moms to thank for that.