Minutes to Memories

I just returned from the hospital after checking on our friend, Marcie. She gave birth to her second son, little Noah or Austin (they can't decide!), who weighed in at 7lbs, 10oz. Marcie's husband, Adam, is my kind of guy. In addition to the fact that he is an emergency room doctor, and in addition to the fact that the birth of his second son was scheduled for today, he emailed a trade request to me earlier this week in an attempt to shore up his fantasy basketball team. I accepted Dwight Howard & gave up Jamal Crawford in a trade that should help both of us. I like a man whose priorities are straight!

I'll warn you that I'm about to sound real sappy, but I think I watched a movie that will alter the course of my life this morning. This is strange, particularly because I've watched Field of Dreams multiple times before today.

My Friday "day off" has been good, but its been a bit misguided. I noticed it turning into another list of things to do (which is a personal problem of mine). So yesterday, especially after some thoughts presented in The Divine Conspiracy (which I finished yesterday morning), I decided to reorder a few things in my life, including my approach to Friday.

My intention is to seek solitude on Fridays now, particularly by escaping to nature (the beach, or the woods...). But today is the coldest day of the year in South Mississippi, so I wasn't really keen on the idea of nature.

So I went to Wal-Mart just after 7am to buy a cheap movie, and I decided to purchase Field of Dreams.

This classic movie came out in my college years, and since its a sports movie, I was there when it hit the theaters. I know I thought it was a great movie then, at least that's the impression I remember. Over the years, I've caught it in bits and pieces on television. In particular, I remember catching the end of it one night after moving to Ocean Springs. That unforgettable scene between the Kinsella father and son captivated me that night, so much so that I wrote a devotional essay that I included in my book, Pardon the Inspiration.

But today (I'm guessing) is the first time since my college years to really sit down and drink in the entire movie, and I don't mind admitting that I don't remember the last time I cried as much as I cried this morning. I'm not much into crying you see, but a couple of things about the movie captured my heart in ways I cannot adequately describe.

This is the first time I've taken in the entire power of this movie since the death of my father over twelve years ago now. My dad and I had a great relationship through the lens of sports, with so many days spent playing catch in our backyard. When I drove him to the hospital where he died, we talked about those days, and I'll never forget his statement that he wished we could do that again one more time. This movie reminded me to keep wishing.

The movie made me think about my own family, one where I spend a lot of time reading and on the computer while my wife sews and watches television while my daughter watches The Disney Channel and listens to music. This has to change, and after watching a movie this morning, I am sure that it will.

I was also touched by the character of Moonlight Graham. Ray Kinsella offered that it was a tragedy that Doc Graham came so close to realizing his baseball dream only to see it pass him by, to which Graham replied, "Ah, to only have been a doctor for five minutes... That would have been a tragedy." There was nothing I wanted more as a child than to be a professional athlete. That sounds trite, I know, but you may not understand the depth in which I wanted that for my life. But my life has taken a different path... And watching Doc Graham accept that fate and watching the great baseball players applaud his life... Well, that's the specific moment that the tears began flowing for me.

I'm different now, all from watching a movie this morning. It has turned out to be a most excellent personal sabbath day.