A Wise Father

Greg could hear the commotion as he neared the annex. Today was sign-up for Little League and he knew the room would be filled with boys and their parents. He paused in the doorway; the desks no longer in straight rows. Boys of all ages teased, gave each other playful punches, uttering pet names like, Porker, Bubba, Stinker and Fat lips. The list went on. None meant to be mean, but boys emulate their fathers and uncles, who leaned against the shelving along the back wall and watched.

Greg pursed his lips and uttered a piercing whistle that had everyone covering their ears. "Welcome to the annual Little League sign-up. I hope you all have your permission slips filled out and signed by your parent. Boys, line up here in front." There was a mad scramble for first place in line, but it was immediately stopped by another whistle.

"Wait until I finish speaking. You'll find listening to my directions completely will get you into less trouble and being embarrassed when I single you out. Now, let's start over. Line up in a row by grades. Oldest by the window and so on." No one moved, he smiled, "That's all, now you can move."

While the boys sorted themselves, Greg and his assistants sat at the arranged tables across one end of the room. Each age group was indicated on the paper taped to the front of the desks.

Greg raised his voice when the men nodded they were ready, "Okay boys, step up and hand the coach your application. He'll look it over to see if everything's in order. He'll give you a packet to take to your parents with all the information for the first day of tryouts. Any questions?" No one spoke. The men motioned to the first set of boys.

Greg's line moved quickly. He had the oldest boys; they'd all been through the routine and their paperwork easily checked and in order. He looked up to see a face he didn't recognize. He glanced at the name on the application he was handed; Roger Meyer.

"Hello, You're new to this area?" He smiled at the youngster.

"Yes, my dad got transferred here a few months ago. My brother and I played Little League for the last three years." Greg saw a recommendation letter from the boy's former coach attached to the application. It mentioned both Roger and his brother Tom.

"Where's your brother?" Greg looked around and saw another dark haired boy standing right behind him.

"Hi, I'm Tom." He handed Greg his application.

Greg looked the pages over and saw all the dates and requirements met, but when he looked at the birthdates, they were just six months apart. Thinking one of the boys made a mistake he looked at them. Both had dark hair, brown eyes, tanned skin, and though they didn't look identical, there was some common qualities.

"Did one of you boys make a mistake on your form? Your birthdays are just six months apart."

They both grinned, one with dimples one without. "We know. One of us is adopted."

Greg raised his eyebrows just a little curious, "If I may ask, which one of you is adopted?'

The boys grins spread even wider. He could tell they had been asked this question before. "We don't know."

Greg frowned at them thinking they were making fun of him. "Really."

"Sir, we aren't joking." Tom spoke up.

Roger continued, "We've asked our dad every year to tell us which one of us is adopted, but all he says is; "It was so long ago he doesn't remember." The boys looked at Greg and shrugged.

Greg gave them each a packet and they went their way. Something stirred in his heart and he blinked a few times. He'd been adopted, and not once had his father ever showed preference to his brother over him. There were times in his life, he'd resented being adopted even though he knew he was loved. This father had gone beyond that. At some point the boys would see the truth, but until then, this father wanted his love established equally.

Later that night Greg called his dad.

"I know Father's day is coming up, but I just wanted you to know how much I love you and am proud to call you my father." Greg went on to share the story of the two Meyer boys. He knew when he met the boy's father, there would be a deep respect for the man who had two sons.



Galatians 4:7 Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.