How Softball and My Daughter’s Faith Held Me Together.

During a recent Pub Theology gathering, a question was asked that stopped me in my tracks.

“If you had to name one thing that has changed your life—aside from God or your faith—what would it be?”

It was simple, but it sent me down a long, honest road of memory. Jesus is the love of my life, and I will never be ashamed to say it. But this question pushed me to look at my journey from a different angle.

About three years and six months ago, I lost my home and my career. It was the biggest "Job moment" I had ever faced. I still remember sitting my three boys and my daughter down to tell them the truth. My boys shrugged it off like it was nothing. But my daughter… she responded in a way I will never forget.

She walked into the church and cried out to God on my behalf, begging Him to help her dad. And as she cried harder, the rain outside began to fall harder too. I stood there watching her, broken, unsure of how I would provide for my family, and yet witnessing her faith rise like a storm.

A few days later, she had a softball game in Middletown. Before the game, we went to church. I was a mess—an understatement, really. The preacher spoke about Hagar being sent away with her son, about their fear, their uncertainty, and the boy crying out to the Lord. Everything she said echoed exactly what I was feeling.

Then she said, “God has heard the cry of Ishmael.”

And in that moment, I heard God speak to me:

“I have heard the cry of your daughter. Charles, it is going to work itself out. I promise.”

I felt tears rise, and I tried to hold them back, because I knew—God had spoken to me.

In the months that followed, I watched my daughter blossom in softball. Watching her play became the only joy I had while I was still carrying the weight of losing everything and worrying about how to rebuild our lives.

Yesterday, as I watched her play again, that Pub Theology question came back to me. And the answer was suddenly clear.

Besides God Himself through His Son Jesus Christ, it has been the faith of my daughter—and softball—that have changed my life.

So today, I say:

Thank you to my daughter.

And thank you to softball.

Be blessed.