“Let no one ever
come to you without leaving better and happier.” Words from Mother Teresa, one of my
heroes.
Made me think of
. . .
David. A young man, who just a few years ago,
bravely battled brain cancer. He had a
list of things he had wanted to accomplish:
Prom, Graduation, those things.
So he did. He and his date
attended Prom, though he didn’t stay the entire dance because he got tired and
a bit overwhelmed. We had a special
graduation for him and I was able to hand him his diploma. That same month in 2012, David passed
away.
Always sad when
a child leaves us, but I don’t want to focus on that. Rather, I want to focus on the efforts of
individuals to make his life, and those last few weeks of his life, a little
happier for him, and for his family.
Efforts to give us all a sense of closure, even though this closure came
way too soon.
Made me think of
. . .
Michael. A young man at my previous school. Graduated with his class, but at the age of
nineteen, just three years after his diagnosis, passed away. Again, far too soon.
But I don’t want
to focus on that. Rather, I remember a
football game. Michael was a wide
receiver, but never got to play because of his illness and how weak he was. He couldn’t take any hit because the hit
would have been lethal. But, his coach
and his teammates knew how important it was for Michael to actually play in a
game.
His coach, Mark,
made an arrangement with the other team that on the very first offensive
series, on the very first play, Michael would catch his first and only pass-
ever- and then step out of bounds. And
that’s what happened. Michael caught his
pass. Standing ovation, even from the
other team. The cornerback came over to
shake his hand. In return, our senior captain,
a big lineman intentionally false started to move the ball back. It made Michael’s year. Heck, it made all of our year. I couldn’t tell you what the final score
was. It didn’t matter. What mattered was that Michael caught his
pass.
And, all of this
was brought back to me when I saw this wonderful story on Facebook. It is worth the three minutes it takes to
watch. Please do so. This is such a cool story. It does warm the
heart and bring tears to your eyes. Happy tears.
In short, a
middle school football team from Michigan came up with an idea. They told no one, not even the coach. Just the kids. The goal was to get as close to the goal line
as possible without scoring. A kid broke
free and took a knee at the one yard line.
The coach was furious. So
angry. The next play, the ball is handed
off to one of their teammates who didn’t get to play very much if at all, and
this boy scored a touchdown with the help of his teammates.
But what was
really cute was the kid who told the story was smiling the entire time. Because it allowed a disabled teammate to
score a touchdown. It allowed a teammate
to actually be a real part of the team.
We don’t hear
too many stories like this and if we do, far too infrequently. I believe that what sets humans apart from
all other species is our ability to care, to be compassionate, to empathize
with the sorrow and pain someone else feels or is going through. I believe that deep down, we want to
help. Deep down, we’re called to
help. Deep down, we need to help.
And in so doing,
we make a difference. We make a
difference for that person. One brief
moment in that person’s life is changed for the better because we cared to
change that life for the better.
But just as
importantly, we make a difference in our own lives by caring, by being
compassionate, by empathizing. We make a
difference in our own lives by reaching out, by lending a hand. We make a difference, not only in another’s
life, but in our own. Our own. In the words of Mother Teresa, “Let no one
ever come to you without leaving better and happier.” Maybe we can.
Maybe we should. Dare to. Something to think about . . .
Live Your Life,
and Make A Difference!
To My Readers:
If you like thriller/mystery
fiction, here is my Lives Trilogy series with current kindle pricing, and all
are free on Kindle Unlimited.
Book #1: Stolen
Lives $3.99
Book #2:
Shattered Lives $5.99
Prequel to the
Lives Trilogy: Taking Lives $.99
Book #3:
Splintered Lives - Coming in November!
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