Most every
Monday evening, my family and I watch Monday Night Football. It really doesn’t matter who plays. We just like football.
I found last
evening inspiring.
Now that I got
your attention, I realize an 18-16 score game isn’t exciting, especially when
our favorite team wasn’t playing. But I
was inspired nonetheless.
Before the game,
during all the commentary about who should win, who won’t win, why they will
win, and why they won’t, there was a piece . . . a segment . . . on Joey.
A little girl
who died at Sandy Hook Elementary School while she and her class were
celebrating her birthday. Almost her
entire class was murdered. A tragic
loss.
What inspired me
was her story. How her parents
reacted. Their devastating and tragic
loss. A stupid and senseless loss. My wife and I wept.
But in the
aftermath, what followed, was that a playground was built in her honor. There was an inscription . . . I wish I could
remember the entirety of it and I’m afraid I can’t, I’m very sorry I can’t . .
. but the inscription was something to the effect of “Joey can’t be here, but
she wants you to play.” And her mother
said, that Joey spent most of her life playing.
Playing on a playground. And when
the idea came up from a fireman to build a playground in her memory, her mother
stated, “Yes. Someone who gets it.” And as she said it, she smiled and looked
up. She looked up and it was a beautiful
smile. I won’t forget that. Not ever.
And while her
story was so moving, it was Ray Lewis, the retired linebacker and leader of the
Ravens who tied it all together for me.
He sent a letter
to the family and that letter has come to mean so much to the family. When Ray Lewis was asked to explain why he
sent the letter to the family . . . and again, I’m not at all doing justice to
him, to his thoughts, to his meaning, nor to the memory and impact that Joey
had on, well, most everyone, especially me, he said, “God Doesn’t Make Mistakes.”
God Doesn’t Make
Mistakes.
I needed to hear
that.
I wrote two
posts recently, Inconvenienced By Tragedy and Final Applause, that spoke to the
death of my nephew and its impact on my extended family . . . the impact on
me. Ray Lewis’ statement, “God Doesn’t
Make Mistakes!” pretty much summed it up a heck of a lot better than I
could. Than I did.
You see, he
explained that evil is all around us.
All around us. But God has a way
of using that evil . . . a tragedy . . . to bring about some good. To bring an impact in our lives . . . in the
lives of others.
Gang, I’m not a
great philosopher. I write words and
most of the time, I hope and pray they spring from my heart. Sometimes I fall flat on my face. Sometimes . . . I hope most times . . . I
manage to rise above the floor a little bit.
But, while you
and I might not ever know of the good that springs from evil . . . God might
turn an evil around and into something good . . . I truly believe, like Ray
Lewis does, that God Doesn’t Make Mistakes.
Not ever. No way. There might always be evil in the world. Unfortunately, always. Yet, I honestly believe . . . deep in my
soul, deep in my heart of hearts . . . that there will always be good. And, I believe more importantly, good will
always trump evil. Always! I might not understand it. I may not see it in my lifetime. But I believe that good will always trump
evil. Because in the end, God Doesn’t
Make Mistakes. That is something to
think about . . .
Live Your Life,
and Make A Difference!
Great piece
ReplyDeleteThank you, Mary. I appreciate it and thank you for taking the time to read it. Joe
ReplyDelete