Just Shine On

Last spring, I got into a conversation with a friend of mine about my favorite places to go relax on campus.

I told him that I loved to climb up onto the roof of one of the dugouts on campus, and look at the stars. I explained that it was dark on that particular field, away from campus lights and all the people. It was quiet and you could hear trees whisper. He then asked me a question that made me feel a little vulnerable:

“Does the dugout have sentimental value to you?”

I didn’t realize it until he asked me, but at that moment I realized that he was right. It did have sentimental value to me, because it taught me a lesson.

The first time I went to the dugout, it was at the insistence of someone who knew how much I loved the night sky. At first, I was all for it. But as we got closer I realized that it was a lot higher than I expected. I didn’t know if I would be able to climb up there. He proceeded to pull himself up just by using his upper body strength. I, built like a stick with the noodliest arms ever, (my fault, because I stopped going to the gym,) knew that wouldn’t be possible for me. Luckily, the outfield fence ran right up to the edge of the dugout. All I had to do was climb the fence, stand on the top of it, and then swing my leg up onto the roof.

Standing on top of the fence, I panicked.

I was already seven feet off the ground. The roof was another four feet higher. I was terrified to balance myself with only one foot, on just my tiptoes, on the fence as I swung my leg up. For 15 minutes I stood there trying to figure out how I was going to make it. Meanwhile, I was being coaxed up by my adventurous comrade, who was telling me to just trust him because he wouldn’t let me fall.

I finally threw myself up there. The transition onto the roof was a little rough, but I made it. Jumping down was a whole other event. I didn’t go back again for a few months. The next time I did though, I went alone. I got up there with ease this time, and got down much quicker. I couldn’t understand why I had such a hard time the first round. Since then, I have gone back to the dugout many times, and it is now one of my favorite places to go.

Sometimes putting your faith in God is like my first experience at the dugout.

It’s scary, it’s a challenge, but you just have to trust Him that you’re going to land on your feet eventually, even if you roll down the hill, trip on a rock, and bang your knee on the way. It can be painful on the way down, but He will catch us when we fall. We have to trust that when we make that small leap of faith, there will be something so much better waiting for us once we take that risk…just like an awesome view of the night sky and a shooting star sighting was waiting for me once I climbed the dugout.

~Alexis Grace

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