Father's eyes

[mightyblue12]

FATHER'S EYES

Bob Richards, the former pole-vault
champion, shares a moving
story about a skinny young boy who loved football
with all his heart.
Practice after practice, he eagerly gave
everything he had. But being
half the size of the other boys, he got
absolutely nowhere. At all the
games, this hopeful athlete sat on the bench
and hardly ever played.
This teenager lived alone with his
father, and the two of them
had a very special relationship. Even though the
son was always on the
bench, his father was always in the stands
cheering. He never missed a
game.
This young man was still the smallest of
the class when he
entered high school. But his father continued to
encourage him but also
made it very clear that he did not have to play
football if he didn't
want to. But the young man loved football and
decided to hang in there.
He was determined to try his best at every
practice, and perhaps he'd
get to play when he became a senior. All through
high school he never
missed a practice nor a game but remained a bench
warmer all four years.
His faithful father was always in the stands,
always with words of
encouragement for him.
When the young man went to college, he
decided to try out for
the football team as a "walk-on". Everyone was
sure he could never make
the cut, but he did. The coach admitted that he
kept him on the roster
because he always puts his heart and soul in
every practice, and at the
same time, provided the other members with the
spirit and hustle they
badly needed. The news that he had survived the
cut thrilled him so much
that he rushed to the nearest phone and called
his father. His father
shared his excitement and was sent season tickets
for all the college
games. This persistent young athlete never
missed practice during his
four years at college, but he never got to play
in the game.
It was the end of his senior football
season, and as he trotted
onto the practice field shortly before the big
play off game, the coach
met him with a telegram. The young man read the
telegram and he became
deathly silent. Swallowing hard, he mumbled to
the coach, "My father
died this morning. Is it all right if I miss
practice today?"
The coach put his arm gently around his
shoulder and said,
"Take the rest of the week off, son. And don't
even plan to come back to
the game on Saturday.
Saturday arrived, and the game was not
going well. In the
third quarter, when the team was ten points
behind, a silent young man
quietly slipped into the empty locker room and
put on his football gear.
As he ran onto the sidelines, the coach and his
players were astounded
to see their faithful teammate back so soon.
"Coach, please let me
play. I've just got to play today." said the
young man. The coach
pretended not to hear him. There was no way he
wanted his worst player
in this close playoff game.
But the young man persisted, and finally
feeling sorry for the
kid, the coach gave in. "All right," he said.
"You can go in".
Before long, the coach, the players and
everyone in the stands
could not believe their eyes. This little
unknown, who had never played
before was doing everything right. The opposing
team could not stop him.
He ran, he passed, looked and tackled like a
star. His team began to
triumph. The score was soon tied. In the
closing seconds of the game,
this kid intercepted a pass and ran all the way
for the winning
touchdown. The fans broke loose. His teammates
hoisted him onto their
shoulders. Such cheering you never heard!
Finally, after the stands had emptied
and the team had showered
and left the locker room the coach noticed that
the young man was
sitting quietly in the corner all alone. The
coach came to him and
said, "Kid, I can't believe it. You were
fantastic! Tell me what got
into you? How did you do it?"
He looked at the coach, with tears in
his eyes, and said,
"Well, you knew my dad died, but did you know
that my dad was blind?'
The young man swallowed hard and forced a smile,
"Dad came to all my
games, but today was the first time he could see
me play, and I wanted
to show him I could do it!"
Like the athlete's father, God is always
there cheering for us.
He's always reminding us to go on. He's even
offering us His hand for
He knows what is best and is willing to give us
what we need and not
simply what we want. God has never missed a
single game.
What a joy to know that life is
meaningful if lived for the
Highest. Live for HIM for He's watching us in
the game of life.

-- Author Unknown

[ANGELEYES4YOULUV]

What a beautiful post. I have heard the same story but only in the form of a song. It is called "The Blind Man In The Bleachers" . It is really heart touching. But I am sure it is alos a true story in someone's life. I am still wiping tears from reading it, even though I already saw it and heard it in song also. Great Post, keep up the great work finding things like this. And everyone remember the message that comes from this. GOD WILL ALWAYS BE THERE CHEERING US ON IN WHATEVER GOOD THING WE UNDERTAKE. LET US NOT LET HIM DOWN, BUT GIVE HIM OUR ALL.

[~*~BabyGirl~*~]

good post mightyblue12 thanx for sharin it with us .... God Bless