Field of Dreams: God’s Plan, Not Mine
I was 16 when I first saw Field of Dreams. A Hollywood movie about an Iowa farmer? About baseball? Starring Kevin Costner? It sounded too good to be true. No one ever made movies about my home state.
Through the years, I saw the movie at least once a year. I recall playing the VHS tape on my 13” black Emerson TV/VCR combo in my New Jersey dorm room, usually in spring when studying late for a final exam, feeling homesick and wanting an early taste of Iowa summer.
The movie reminded me of the dirt infield/backstop on our farm that our dad built for my younger brothers and me when we were kids, years before the movie. After finishing his chores for the day, Dad would hit countless grounders and flies and then pitch batting practice. We played pickup games with our friends there in the afternoon after walking beans in the morning, with my mom’s hamburgers and iced tea in between.
I had always viewed Field of Dreams for the baseball, for its gorgeous setting amidst never-ending cornfields, for the moving final scene between father and son. Even for the “Is this heaven? No, it’s Iowa” joke.
But through suffering, followed by spiritual growth, I began to appreciate a theme in the film I had previously missed.
My Blind Spot
Ray (Kevin Costner) listens to the Voice and stays the course throughout the movie, battling doubt, public ridicule, family tension, and financial difficulties. His journey leads to the penultimate scene to which I needed to pay more attention.
As the ballgame ends for the day, Shoeless Joe asks author Terrence Mann (James Earl Jones) to come into the corn with him and the other players. When Shoeless Joe informs Ray that he is not invited, Ray becomes outraged and confronts Shoeless Joe.
Ray: “Not invited? What do you mean I’m not invited? Hey, that’s my corn! You guys are guests in my corn! I’ve done everything I’ve been asked to do. I didn’t understand it, but I’ve done it. And I haven’t once asked what’s in it for me.”
Shoeless Joe: “What are you saying?”
Ray: “I’m saying, ‘What’s in it for me?’”
Shoeless Joe: “Is that why you did this? For you?”
Ray had a plan in his head of what he thought would happen - what he thought should happen. But as he finished his conversation with Shoeless Joe, Ray turned to see his dad as a much younger man dressed in his baseball uniform. Ray watched in awe as his father removed his catcher’s mask and whirled around to meet his gaze. God’s plan was much bigger than his.
God, please remind me of this truth daily - Your plan, not mine.
Links:
“If You Build It…: A Book About Fathers, Fate, and Field of Dreams” by Dwier Brown
“The Real Moonlight Graham: A Life Well Lived” - a Mayo Clinic documentary (In the video’s opening minutes, narrator Vin Scully tells the incredible story about how author W.P. Kinsella unearthed his Moonlight Graham character - a must-watch for writers!)
Image credit: Alamy