More Than We Deserve

Sometimes you get more than you expect...more than what you deserve. "God is sheer mercy and grace; not easily angered, he's rich in love" Psalm 103:8 (The Message). I have been wanting to take Bryce to a Major League Baseball game for some time. Now that we live within driving distance of the Washington Nationals I've been looking for an opportunity. Yesterday morning I went online to see if they were playing at home and what the ticket prices were. And to my pleasure I saw they were playing the Orioles at 1:30 and there were "family fun" tickets for $14 which included a hot dog, drink and chips. So, we headed out towards D.C. We parked in Vienna and got on the Metro (the subway system for D.C.) which took us to within a block of the Nationals Park. We got in line at the box office to buy tickets but were disappointed to find out that the Family Fun Tickets were sold out and the only tickets left were $10 standing tickets (that means you have to stand somewhere, you don't have a seat) or the Diamond Club seats which were $175 a piece. We walked away disappointed that we had traveled so far and were so close, but couldn't afford to get in. Bryce began to cry and I was brokenhearted for him that he would not get to see the game. As we walked around the entrance trying to decide what to do next, an older gentleman walked up to us and asked if we needed tickets. He said he was an attorney from D.C. and had a group of season tickets that he didn't need. The face value of the tickets were $55 and he said he would take $25. We told him our situation and the tickets we had come to buy and he told us that these would be much better. We didn't have cash on us so to our surprise he said he would take a check. We thanked him and excitedly walked to the gates and on towards our seats. Our tickets took us to place called the Stars and Stripes Club...an air conditioned club with food vendors, shops, and lots of lounge chairs and tv's. Our seats were on the first row of the lower deck along the third base line. It was more than we expected. We had planned to sit in the right field upper deck with the family fun tickets, but this was more than we could have imagined. And what a game, too. Belliard hit a 2 run home run in the 12th inning with 2 outs to win the game for the Nationals. What a day! Some might think that all this is coincidence, but my God is a God of mercy and grace. We get more than we deserve and He doesn't treat us as we deserve. I was surprised by what happened. It's not what I expected or planned. Sometimes God has something better.
Duane