This past weekend I had the opportunity to attend a high school reunion with my husband, who was a teacher and administrator at those folks' middle school "back in the day". One of the most cool things was to get to meet some of his former students who are now my Facebook friends! At any rate, we enjoyed hearing how my husband had been an influencer in the lives of these folks, which is something we hear often. He was an amazing educator, who influenced for the good many, many young lives.
Then, this morning, one of those alums posted an article that will be in tomorrow's Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper (print edition - - it's online today). 1 What an amazing story, that brought me to tears!
In the Spring of 1971, the high school had hired a football coach who was highly acclaimed. The football team had a longtime losing record; so, they were very excited to get this "excellent catch". (I'm sorry....regular readers to this blog know that puns just happen to me...) Although hired in the spring he immediately began to put the next fall's team "through the paces", working them hard! In those two weeks that April, he really worked them hard, which heightened the disheartened players' expectations for a winning season, come fall. He really made an impression on those boys.
In God's divine plan, though, this coach was involved in a serious traffic accident two weeks after starting to work with the team. Due to brain damage, a long recovery began. The team got a new coach, and life moved on.
Fast-forward to the present, 45 years later. The students believed that the short-tenured coach was long-dead. No obituary could be located, however; and, it was discovered he is still alive! Though still severely impaired, he has lived a fulfilling life over the intervening years.
It would be easy to read about his life and say, "What a shame!" But, listen to this...
Two years after the accident, the coach was well enough to hitchhike a ride home. He was picked up by a high school student, who shared the gospel of Jesus Christ with him. His testimony now is that God spared his life so that he could live that moment with that high school driver, so that he could receive new life, eternal life through Jesus Christ, his Savior!
It is because of the Sovereign Father's mighty plan that last weekend, 45 years later, a 70-year old former football coach, with garbled speech, was able to gather with 80 former students, whose lives he impacted so mightily in two short weeks. He was able to share his testimony of what Jesus Christ has done for him. And, I imagine that he deepened their understanding of every blessing that belongs to believers in Jesus Christ.
4I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, 5because I hear of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints. 6I pray that the faith you share with us may deepen your understanding of every blessing that belongs to you in Christ. 7I have had great joy and encouragement because of your love, for the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, brother.
Philemon 1:4-7
Paul wrote these words about his friend, Philemon, but surely the hearts of the gathered classmates and the heart of the old coach were similarly refreshed as they remembered and thanked each other, for their brief time together.
How often we fail to realize the sovereign workings of our perfect God! How often we question and fuss and fume and rail against Him when His plans differ from ours! How often we fail to realize the impact of a single encounter or a brief one, for that matter! We truly do not realize what God is doing, through our most mundane, everyday moments.
From this day forward, let's be more thankful and more watchful, careful to use every moment of our lives to show God's love to our fellow man, to live out the gospel of Christ, to tell of what He has done for us.
Dear Jesus, I thank you for the life and testimony of this great man of God, this former teacher/coach/football player whose greatest "claim to fame" is that he got to meet and know You. By his own testimony, "this world is not his home; he is only passing through..." Dear LORD, I am so humbled! Give us all hearts full of thankfulness, gratitude and love to see our acquaintances, friends, family, and even total strangers come to know the love that is ours, the perfect love that can be theirs as well...in You. In Jesus' name, amen.
Source:
Staples, G. B. (2016, September 1). Life With Gracie: Accident derailed coach's life but his journey inspires others. Life With Gracie: Accident Derailed Coach's Life but His Journey Inspires Others. Retrieved September 2, 2016.
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