thefinishline 04/08/10
Courageous Character
By Aaron M Little
I've got to credit my brother, a Vanderbilt staff member, for forwarding this clip to me. As you can clearly see, Corey Williams, the Vanderbilt pitcher, suffers an excruciatingly painful baseball blow to the knee and still retains the presence of mind to make the play for the out. This took place last Saturday, and since then x-rays of the injury have been released by Vanderbilt that show the kneecap broken in pieces. I broke my hip when I was 25, so I know that split-second feeling when you can tell something has gone horribly wrong in your body. The last thing I would have worried about in that instant would have been making the play on the field when I could no longer move my leg.
So that got me thinking, what made Corey's first reaction be to throw that ball to first to get the out? I mean, you can't drill your players on how to handle horrendous fractures and still keep your head in the game and make the play. The only answer I could come up with was courageous character. I know nothing about Corey Williams other than he's a tough-as-nails pitcher for Vanderbilt University and that he displayed about as much courage as you possibly can on a field of play. He knew from the moment of impact that he was hurt worse than he probably ever had been in his life, but he also knew he should try to make the play, no matter the pain he was in. As we saw, victory was achieved.
This is a good example for Christians who are feeling discouraged by circumstances in life. Perhaps we've "trained" ourselves with church, Bible studies, and encouraging podcasts for years, but suddenly we encounter the worst situation we've ever experienced. What do we do? As Corey Williams showed us, be courageous. Keep your eyes on the goal and finish strong...make the play. And when you really think about it, it doesn't even take as much courage as Corey displayed, because according to Jesus, we've already secured the victory in Him. So let's remember that and remember to have courage in the trials of life.
I've got to credit my brother, a Vanderbilt staff member, for forwarding this clip to me. As you can clearly see, Corey Williams, the Vanderbilt pitcher, suffers an excruciatingly painful baseball blow to the knee and still retains the presence of mind to make the play for the out. This took place last Saturday, and since then x-rays of the injury have been released by Vanderbilt that show the kneecap broken in pieces. I broke my hip when I was 25, so I know that split-second feeling when you can tell something has gone horribly wrong in your body. The last thing I would have worried about in that instant would have been making the play on the field when I could no longer move my leg.
So that got me thinking, what made Corey's first reaction be to throw that ball to first to get the out? I mean, you can't drill your players on how to handle horrendous fractures and still keep your head in the game and make the play. The only answer I could come up with was courageous character. I know nothing about Corey Williams other than he's a tough-as-nails pitcher for Vanderbilt University and that he displayed about as much courage as you possibly can on a field of play. He knew from the moment of impact that he was hurt worse than he probably ever had been in his life, but he also knew he should try to make the play, no matter the pain he was in. As we saw, victory was achieved.
This is a good example for Christians who are feeling discouraged by circumstances in life. Perhaps we've "trained" ourselves with church, Bible studies, and encouraging podcasts for years, but suddenly we encounter the worst situation we've ever experienced. What do we do? As Corey Williams showed us, be courageous. Keep your eyes on the goal and finish strong...make the play. And when you really think about it, it doesn't even take as much courage as Corey displayed, because according to Jesus, we've already secured the victory in Him. So let's remember that and remember to have courage in the trials of life.