June 4, 2008

When God showed up on the softball field
A recent story in the New York Times by George Vecsey caught my attention. The Western Oregon women’s softball team played against Central Washington University in April of this year, and during the course of the game, Western Oregon senior Sara Tucholsky hit the first home run of her college career. She missed first base, though, in all her excitement, as the first base coach yelled for her to come back. When she turned, to everyone’s horror, her right knee buckled. Crying and in intense pain, Tucholsky struggled to crawl back to first base. In the meantime, the umpire warned that if any of her teammates touched her, she would be called out, and if a pinch runner were brought in for her, the home run would be reduced to a single. That’s when the opposing team’s first baseman, Mallory Holtman, did something that shocked everyone. She turned to the umpire and said, "Excuse me, would it be OK if we carried her around the bases, and she touched each one?" The umpires agreed, so Holtman and teammate Liz Wallace picked up Tucholsky and carried her to second base, where they gently lowered her and touched her foot to the bag. All three players started to giggle, Tucholsky through her tears, as they proceeded to third base. When they arrived at home plate, the crowd exploded with a standing ovation. Many in the stands were crying, even though it was a home game for Central Washington. Western Oregon went on to win the game, eliminating Central Washington from the playoffs.
After the game, Holtman said that her good deed was no big deal: "She hit it over the fence," Holtman said. "She deserved it. Anybody would have done it. I just beat them to it." She said her coach, Gary Frederick, teaches the team that "winning is not everything."
Pam Knox, the coach of the Western Oregon team, attributed it to character, saying, "They’re playing for a coach who instills it."
I don’t know about you, but hearing a story like that renews my hope. It reminds me that there are still coaches and teachers and parents out there who recognize a higher calling than just fielding a winning team. It also renews my faith that God is at work across this land. Don’t be confused by the fact that the Lord was not mentioned at all in that story and there is no indication that either the players or the coaches acknowledged faith in God. Perhaps none of them did. But what happened on the field that day was, as George Vecsey called it, "a moment of grace." A player for the losing team helped a player from the winning team increase their margin of victory. One who was in a position to benefit from leaving an opposing player in her place of weakness instead reached out and turned that weakness into strength. That is as clear a picture of God’s grace as he could have possibly painted for us that day.
We also were rounding first base in our attempt to make it home safely. But we stumbled in our sin; we fell and were absolutely unable to continue. The strong arms of God’s grace picked us up and carried us home, at his own expense. These arms belong to the one who was "wounded for our transgressions," the one who "has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows." Thank you, Mallory Holtman and Liz Wallace. You did more than help a fallen opponent. Your example helped us all.


J. Mark Fox is pastor of Antioch Community Church on Power Line Road in Elon. His books, "Real Life Moments: a Dad’s Devotional", and "Family-Integrated Church," are available at Amazon.com. E-mail Mark at markfox@antiochchurch.cc