People Watching

Mark and I had a wonderful time at the Giants game last night. We headed up to San Francisco after sharing a quiet lunch alone, and then walked the ballpark strip waiting for the gates to open.

I am not a huge sports fan. To be completely honest, I could take it or leave it. My Dad was never into sports growing up, so the idea of watching a baseball game on TV was foreign to me. None of our family outings included a trip to the ballpark. Sports has always been something I've shrugged at - that is, until I hooked up with Mark. He is still trying to convince me that SportsCenter isn't torture. Ugh!!

It was great being a part of the excitement last night. Seeing the celebrities strut their stuff was really something. But what fascinated me more than watching Barry Bonds take the plate, more than the size of the stadium and the excitement in the air . . . was the people! I absolutely LOVE to watch people. And God provided quite a tapestry last night.

Let's face it. People are pretty funny looking. I saw some humble and plain folk, some fancy pants media type, the young adult tyrant with foul language and rude remarks. I saw some old dear souls with earplugs in, and some young whipper snappers devouring hand fulls of goodies. Most of them were decorated with the Giants logo . . . each with their own story - every one of them dearly loved by God. I tried to catch bits of conversations (maybe I'm a little bit nosey), to see what was going on in their lives. Some talked about work, others about the weekend, some about summer vacations and even about trips to the doctor.

There was one moment when I took a look around the stadium, and tried to comprehend the fact that the God I love and serve knows each of these people intimately. In fact, he knows what they are thinking every moment. He knows what they had for lunch, what their plans for the weekend are, and whether or not they are right with Him. And those were just the people my eyes could see . . . God does that with every single human being that has or will ever exist! Now that is something to stand up and shout about.

I learned a lot from watching people yesterday, but the greatest lesson was this. Major league baseball brings people of diversity together. People of every background, every corner of the world, all coming together for one common purpose. To cheer the Giants on. There were even the canoe guys out in the bay . . . I watched them for a good ten minutes. I couldn't figure out where they were coming from. The guy with the Santa hat was my favorite.

I guess you could say that I am an official Giants fan now. I'm "one of the crowd" and grateful to be one of God's funny looking creatures. He certainly had a sense of humor when He made us.

One look at the Barry Bonds bobble head, and you know I'm right.