A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
John 13:34-35Selah people' and friends,
As we remember those who died and sacrificed for others on September 11th I feel led to share a story I may have shared before. As I read the words below and pulled up this video once again I could not help but think of how these young women demonstrated what it means not only to persevere but to as God's word proclaims: "To love one another!" May we all learn from examples like these and pass them on to our children, grandchildren and others...yes even those we may be competing against. I've read to the end of God's word and we know that He wins. Join me in being on that winning team and sharing respect and love to all we can in the time that we have left here.
Your brother in Christ,
Patrick
Your brother in Christ,
Patrick
Respect Will Carry You Home
An Excerpt from
Finish Strong: Teen Athlete...Developing the Champion Within
by Dan Green
Western Oregon University's Sara Tucholsky had no idea that the first - and, as it turns out, only - homerun of her career would cause ripples that would make her last swing of the bat as a college softball player a national media sensation.
With two runners on and her team down a run to Central Washington University, Sara hit a homerun to centerfield. As she rounded first base, she missed the bag. When she turned to tag the base, she injured her knee. Able only to crawl back to the base, Sara was told that she would be called out if her teammates came to her aid. If a pinch runner checked into the game, her homerun would count only as a single.
Players and fans alike were stunned when Central Washington first baseman Mallory Holtman, the conference's all-time homerun leader, asked the umpire if there was any rule against opponents helping an injured player around the bases.
She was told that there was not. Together, Holtman and shortstop Liz Wallace picked up Tucholsky and carried her around the bases, stopping at each bag to allow Sara to touch it with her good leg. "It was the right thing to do," Holtman said in an interview on national television, after the respectful act of sportsmanship had been witnessed by millions on ESPN and had become a YouTube sensation.
The three runs sent Western Oregon to a 4-2 victory, ending Central Washington's chances of winning the conference and advancing to the playoffs.
"It's a great story," Western Oregon coach Pam Knox said," something I'll never forget - the game's about character and integrity and sportsmanship, and it's not always about winning and losing."
As it turns out, the players who helped Sara had no idea of the circumstances surrounding the at-bat, or that the story would make headlines around the country. "We didn't know that she was a senior or that this was her first home run," Wallace said Wednesday. "That makes the story more touching than it was. We just wanted to help her." The gesture left Sara's Western Oregon teammates in tears. "I hope I would do the same for her in the same situation," Sara said. Central Washington coach Gary Frederick called the act of sportsmanship "unbelievable."
"In the end, it is not about winning and losing so much," Holtman, who initiated the act, said. "It was about this girl. She hit it over the fence and was in pain, and she deserved a homerun."
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