Eyes of Perfection
 
In Brooklyn, New York, Chush is a school that caters to learning
disabled children.  Some children remain in Chush for their entire
school career, while others can be main-streamed into conventional
schools.

At a Chush fund-raising dinner, the father of a Chush child delivered a
speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended.
After extolling the school and its dedicated staff, he cried out, "Where
is the perfection in my son Shaya?  Everything God does is done with
perfection.  But my child cannot understand things as other children do.
My child cannot remember facts and figures as other children do.  Where is
God's perfection?"

The audience was shocked by the question, pained by the father's anguish
and stilled by the piercing query.  " I believe," the father answered,
"that when God brings a child like this into the world, the perfection
that He seeks is in the way people react to this child."  He then told
the following story about his son Shaya: 

One afternoon Shaya and his father walked past a park where some boys 
Shaya knew were playing baseball. Shaya asked, "Do you think they will
let me play?" Shaya's father knew that his son was not at all athletic
and that most boys would not want him on their team.
But Shaya's father understood that if his son was chosen to play
it would give him a comfortable sense of belonging.

Shaya's father approached one of the boys in the field and asked if
Shaya could play.  The boy looked around for guidance from his team-mates.
Getting none, he took matters into his own hands and said "We are losing by six
runs and the game is in the eighth inning.  I guess he can be on our team and
we'll try to put him up to bat in the ninth inning."  Shaya's father was
ecstatic as Shaya smiled broadly.  Shaya was told to put on a glove and go
out to play short center field.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shaya's team scored a few runs but
was still behind by three.  In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shaya's team
scored again and now with two outs and the bases loaded with the potential
winning run on base, Shaya was scheduled to be up.  Would the team
actually let Shaya bat at this juncture and give away their chance to win the
game?

Suprisingly, Shaya was given the bat.  Everyone knew that it was all but
impossible because Shaya didn't even know how to hold the bat properly,
let alone hit with it.  However as Shaya stepped up to the plate, the pitcher
moved a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shaya should at least be able
to make contact.

The first pitch came in and Shaya swung clumsily and missed.  One of
Shaya's team-mates came up to Shaya and together the held the bat and faced the
pitcher waiting for the next pitch.  The pitcher again took a few steps
forward to toss the ball softly toward Shaya.  As the pitch came in, Shaya
and his team-mate swung at the bat and together they hit a slow ground
ball to the pitcher.  The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could easily
have thrown the ball to the first baseman.  Shaya would have been out and
that would have ended the game.  Instead, the pitcher took the ball and
threw it on a high arc to right field, far beyond reach of the first
baseman.  Everyone started yelling,"Shaya, run to first.  Run to first."
Never in his life had Shaya run to first.  He scampered down the baseline
wide-eyed and startled.

By the time he reached first base, the right fielder had the ball.  He
could have thrown the ball to the second baseman who would tag out
Shaya,who was still running.  But the right fielder  understood what the pitcher's
intentions were, so he threw the ball high and far over the third
baseman's head.  Everyone yelled, "Run to second, run to second." Shaya ran towards
second base as the runners ahead of him deliriously circled the bases
towards home. 

As Shaya reached second base, the opposing short stop ran to him, turned
him in the direction of third base and shouted, "Run to third." As Shaya
rounded third, the boys from both teams ran behind him screaming, "Shaya run
home." Shaya ran home, stepped on home plate and all 18 boys lifted him on their
shoulders and made him the hero, as he had just hit a "grand slam" and
won the game for his team.

"That day," said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face,
"those 18 boys reached their level of God's perfection."