Life. We take it for granted. Each day we are given another breath, but it’s so natural as to be expected. When will the next breath refuse to come? When we aren’t working to support ourselves, we fill our days with various things that entertain us. Sports take up a large portion of many people’s time and can easily become an obsession. But, we forget that many of these sports are inherently dangerous to the players.
It was a Monday night so my husband (a former sportscaster) and I settled in to watch the Bills-Bengals game on television. Partway into the first quarter, a 24-year old safety tackled his opponent, stood up and then immediately collapsed onto the field. Since they were playing out of town, the opposing team had the most medical staff on their sidelines and it was a player from that team who noticed right away that something was very wrong and called for his doctors to step forward. Typically, an injured player is seen right away on the field and very often walks off the field on his own steam to be examined by team physicians. This was not one of those cases. Damar Hamlin was given CPR and then oxygen; emergency personnel were not able to even load him into the ambulance (which was on the field) for many long minutes. He was then rushed to the hospital. Everything stopped. While they were working on him on the field, his teammates were visibly distraught. Rough and tough players were hugging and crying and praying. Their faces showed confusion and sorrow and fear. Teams who, moments before were rivals were now assembled together. United in thought and purpose. Those in attendance in the stands sat transfixed, in utter silence. Time stopped. Death stared everyone in the face.
Life is fragile. It can break irreparably at any time. During a game back in 1971, the Detroit Lions ran back to the huddle but one member of their squad was missing. They turned to look and saw Chuck Hughes lying face down on the ground. He had suffered a fatal heart attack. Who would ever imagine such a horror?
After Damar was taken away in the ambulance, the players took a knee on the field: this time it was not in defiance, but in deference; not in bitterness, but in brokenness.
This young man, it has been discovered, suffered a cardiac arrest, but he has (at this writing) shown signs of improvement, moving his hands and feet, talking and even Zooming with his team. Unlike Chuck Hughes, he has survived. The entire country continues to pray. But, how soon will we forget and move on? Life is a gift. Many accept the gift, but never recognize its value, take care of it or are grateful for it. From the time of our birth, we face death. A serious incident at a football game reminded us of that.
May we not forget.
“Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.” (James 4:14)
“…God has given us eternal life and this life is in HIs Son.” (1 John 5:11)
Thank you for reminding us Teri….❤️
Yes. Thank you for the reminder. Good to see where for a moment all across the nation eyes and hearts all turned to Him!
Precious life that unites us all. Let everything that has breath praise the LORD!!
. . . Just a vapor. . .
It stops us in our tracks! We might be fine a moment and gone the next. We take so much for granted. This national event has caused many of us to stop, think and praise our Lord for His grace and mercy; without which we are lost. Thanks, Teri!
It was a great showing of support from the bengals fans and players for an opponent. Everyone got together and prayed for a young man and helped him defy the odds. He was given CPR for over 8 minutes TWICE. He is now back in buffalo recovering. A true miracle, praise the Lord
Be prepared. God’s ways are not our ways.
Be prepared. God’s thoughts are not our thoughts, God’s ways are not our ways.
Each day is a gift. May we use it in praise and thanksgiving to our Lord.