Last night, right before halftime of the JV football game, a player on the opposing team took a really hard hit. After everyone unpiled, he was left on the ground by himself, clearly hurt. What unfolded in front of an increasingly quiet crowd was the initial treatment of a head/neck injury. The trainer ran out and held his head motionless. Coaches came alongside. Dad comes out of the stands, and then mom runs to the scene. First-responders arrive with their flashing blue lights. Finally the ambulance arrives. More than forty-five minutes after the collision he is carried away to a (at least for me) tearful, respectful, hopeful applause.Right before they carried him off the field, I saw the player’s little brother come alongside the stretcher. Maybe his older brother is his hero; maybe his enemy. Probably both at times. After little brother looked at his older brother immobilized, he walked away,clearly crying. His mother, their mother, comforted him in her arms. I could tell the mom was trying to be strong even in her own struggle with what was happening.
Surely everyone in the stands was thinking what I was thinking. Is he paralyzed? Will he be OK? I think a lot of prayers were being offered, probably by a lot of people who rarely pray. Probably every parent was thinking also what I was thinking: that could be my son on the ground. Every parent probably wanted to run onto the field and hug and hold their sons.
It was one of those sobering moments in life where you suddenly realize the fragile nature of our existence. Just in a moment, a twinkling of an eye, everything can change. People who are healthy and whole can, in a moment, be changed in people who are totally dependent on others for every aspect of life. The unthinkable becomes a new reality.
All these thoughts should lead me to live carefully and thankfully in each moment, taking nothing for granted. That’s what I am going to strive to do today. Lord, held me.
3 comments:
allen, this is another one of those examples like you and i talked about last week, where the glory of athletics is so fleeting or at least can be. reminds me too of some shakespeare lines but i wont bore you with quoting those.
ties into pat's comments on your other post about understanding the magnitude of what sin was and where we are now and the price that was paid. think about how we were and where we are now and why. life can change quickly as the pendulum swings.
my dad use to say it takes a life time to build a reputation and a split second to change it.
RR
I found out last night that the player is OK! I am SO glad.
Give God praise that the player is ok. This was a very thought provoking post. This summer Belinda and I were driving and a lady, who was talking on her cell phone, almost hit us head on. It was so close that I had to slam on my brakes and go off the side of the road to avoid it. Made us stop and think about how quickly life can change.
Pat A
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