THE BOUNCING BALL EFFECT

Do any of you remember watching a kid’s show on TV where you were led through a song by a bouncing ball?  Just dated myself here. So, this BLOG is going to be about Kids and a Bouncing Ball.

Thought number one: In today’s social environment, we all have children, grandkids, neighbor kids (I could go on and on) who play sports. There’s Baseball, Soccer, Field Hockey, Lacrosse, Basketball, Tennis, …  again, I could go on and on. And at every game there is a throng of people: a coach, a sideline coach (that’s you and me), a parent or grandparent, someone hollering, “Keep your eye on the ball!” “Stop that ball!”, “Catch that ball!”, “Throw the ball!”, “Kick that ball!”, etc. It seems it’s always about that Bouncing Ball.

Thought number two: like a Bouncing Ball, how often have those same kids lost their game, dropped the ball, missed a goal shot or didn’t make that save? What about the player that hardly even got in the game, turned an ankle, got a lump on their shin, or just had a terrible day and cried all the way home?

The funny, or at least, ironic thing is that we often use the same terminology: “Oh my kid is resilient, She/He will bounce right back”. And do you know what? They always do! At least in our lives they do.

When I was planning my first trip to Kenya, I met a young man who was performing in a Children’s Choir from the very place I was planning to visit. His name was John (not really his name for confidentiality).  John was a bright, enthusiastic child, always wanting to please, and had an infectious smile that went from ear to ear. To meet him and see him you would believe he was also resilient.

OK… let’s take another look at that bouncing ball. We all know the harder you throw the ball, the higher it bounces (Newton’s third law). For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. But is it proportional?  Well sometimes, with the proper energy, I can make the ball bounce higher than its beginning height. That normally only works if the place where the ball hits is at the same level as my feet. If I would stand on the roof of my house and throw the same ball with a matching force, the reaction would be much less proportional. If I threw the ball with all my energy from the top of the Grand Canyon, YUP! I’ll never see that ball again, forget about how high it might have bounced.

Well, let’s get back to John. What I didn’t know when I met John (with his big smile) was that even then he was ill. He had lost his parents, and for reasons I will never know, didn’t have the medical care necessary for him to have a chance to live the life he so deserved. The Lord knows that everyone that knew John loved him deeply but that wasn’t enough. You see, proper and adequate medical care is so necessary for a child to Bounce Back. Care is the place the ball impacts with and rebounds from. John was the ball. Sadly, when his health dropped there was no adequate place for him to rebound from.

I’m going to list the components of The Bouncing Ball Effect:

1 – The Ball,

2 – The Energy/Force,

3 – The appropriate Place of Impact,

4 – The extent of the Bounce,

5 – The commitment to Repeat.

Today, let’s call the ball, John. For simplicity sake, I’ll be the Force/Energy. The place of Impact, the Rebound Effect, is You. The extent of the Bounce is the Quality of Care provided. The Repeat is the coordinated effort that we all keep doing until every person is given the opportunity.  No, not just opportunity, their right to be able to bounce as high as they want and for as long as they can.

Let us commit as a unified team to: Find a Ball and pick it up; To target the necessary impact zone; To throw that ball with all our might; Be a solid foundation for Impact; and Be ready with open arms to repeat till there are no more balls to throw.

Right now The Gathering Place knows where to find a ball or two. We also have developed the energy or force to throw the ball and create a sizeable impact. What we need is you and your Prayerful Financial support to build the Impact Zone so those that are deemed as dying have a great opportunity to rebound with extraordinary height.

So let’s have a Sing-Along as we follow the Bouncing Ball. Jesus loves the little Children, All the Children of the World. Red or yellow, black or white, they are precious in His sight, Jesus loves the little children of the world.

I think I’m going to get my Grandson and go out in the yard and throw a ball.

I pray you too will find someone to play ball with.

Pastor Bob