Baseball has long been used as a metaphor for life. Through the seemingly infinite number of possibilities in a game, America’s pastime mirrors the countless possibilities in our own lives. The game will teach you, humble you, fill you with pride and joy, and sometimes break your heart. Baseball has lessons for all of us. What no one ever talks about are the life lessons found in the stands. Yet, there are just as many there as there are on the field.

Every time Dr. R. B. Ouellette has been at our church, he always asks my brothers and me the same question. Without fail, he asks, “Pastors’ kids are… what?” If we answer correctly, he gives each of us $20. Pastor Ouellette was a preacher’s kid himself, and he has been asking that same question for decades to the hundreds of pastors’ kids he has met.

It is true that every generation has its own unique struggles and difficulties; not one has escaped hardship.