Yesterday, my grandson asked me about a baseball that sits in a trophy case on one of my bookshelves. It’s a slightly scuffed, autographed ball and it’s priceless.
As a sports fan, I’ve seen Reggie Jackson hit home runs, saw Ted Williams, Willie Mays, Sandy Koufax and more. I have some sports memorabilia, but this baseball is the ultimate trophy.
This baseball is the result of a windy, dusty season in brutal north Texas heat. The team lost some, won some, got frustrated, laughed at goofy stuff, and had fun. Two of the signatures on that ball are what make it so valuable. They were the coach’s sons, Brandon and Bryce. I was the coach.
My grandson’s eyes lit up as he recognized his dad's signature. Brandon, 30 years ago.
As my children grew up, Judi and I built a successful business and I traveled constantly. But I had watched my father’s regret at missing my own games because of ministry demands and I determined I wouldn't do the same.
I put my children’s activities on my calendar first and gave them the same priority as my biggest client. The season I coached, I wasn't the greatest coach, certainly not the greatest dad, but...I was there.
Today, my children—Lindsay, Brandon and Bryce—are leaders in their communities. All are in ministry, all are faithful friends and vibrantly healthy men and women. They are a joy. And with their spouses, they have produced the most awesome grandchildren in the world.
The greatest value of a father’s legacy is the faith he leaves in his child’s life. His children’s greatest treasure is their faith in God. It is of such value that it is invaluable.
In the last decades of my Dad's life, we were very close and he left me a wonderful legacy—the example of a loving father, faith in Christ, a good name, and then, through his ministry, brothers all over the world.
I have a 30-year-old scuffed up baseball scrawled with 12-year-old signatures. No, I wasn't the greatest coach, certainly not the greatest dad, but...that baseball is legacy.
You don’t have to be the most awesome dad … you just have to be there.
