All American

This weekend we are in Dubai for baseball. To show you how out of touch we are, as Josh was trying to book a hotel room for the night, he couldn’t figure out why everything was booked and why he couldn’t use his many million points for our stay. “There must be something going on … ”

Um, turns out it’s EASTER weekend. Good grief. We figured it out as we went to check in, saw the big signs advertising a special Easter brunch, and masses of tourists. That’s right. It’s a holiday for much of the world.

This weekend is Carter’s baseball league finals. 6 games over 3 days versus 4 other schools from Dubai and India (the American school in Doha is also in the league, but because of Qatar and UAE relations, Doha can’t attend when the tournament is hosted in UAE).

Anyway, the finals have been on the calendar for months and we knew Easter was coming, but didn’t think of it as being an event that would bring people to town. Our kids still have school on Sunday, just like any other week.

So we spent Good Friday at the baseball field. Maybe that’s sacrilegious in some way, but it wasn’t a moral dilemma for us when we made plans for the weekend. I grew up not playing any sports on Sunday because that was the day that belonged to God, but being in the Middle East, we live out the “no day is holier than another” principle (Romans 14) every single week by going to church on Friday and work/school on Sunday so we’re used to doing things differently. We also have a very different perception of the year from this side of the world, where holidays sneak up on us and pass without the usual buildup and fanfare so every day really does feel the same.

Besides, if you’ve read this blog for a while, you know that I hate the combined Good Friday/Easter Sunday service, which feels like being rushed through a 5 course meal. Going from the solemn and somber crucifixion to the triumphant resurrection in less than an hour doesn’t give me enough time to feel anything about any of it and I leave feeling restless and incomplete.

But today was a good day. Josh flew in from the US late last night (work trip) and we got up early and drove to Dubai in time for Carter’s first game of the day (they won both yesterday).

He played the best I’ve ever seen him play, cranking a double into left field, stealing bases, and hitting for another RBI. I was so glad to be there. Everyone knows that I don’t love baseball and my favorite part is the 3rd out of the last inning, but today was exceptional. I’m actually looking forward to doing it all over again tomorrow. (Though I wish I had a cushion for the cement benches!)

This weekend we are thankful for the grace that God has given us and the freedom to worship him whenever and wherever we are: in the Middle East, on any day of the week, and even from the benches behind home plate. Amen.