Wait ‘Til You Hear This!

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As I mentioned yesterday, Ray earned a master’s in New Testament in the 1970s. He studied at Harding University and we continue to receive its quarterly magazine, Harding. When Ray learned a touching story in its latest issue, he shared it with me. My tender-hearted husband teared up when he proofread the Miss Ev post a few days ago and he teared up again when he told me about this.

I keep reminding you that faith is alive and well in America. Wait ’til you hear this!

During the 2013 homecoming football game at Harding, Robert Jordan, a player on the opposing team, jumped up to catch a touchdown pass, his third of the game. When he came down, he landed awkwardly, breaking his leg in two places. As Jordan lay on the field waiting for emergency personnel to bring an ambulance, players from both teams gathered around him to pray. Referees bowed in prayer, too.

Photographer Jeff Montgomery snapped a stunning photo of the scene. I wanted you to see the photo, too, so I called the magazine. The receptionist connected me with editor Tom Buterbaugh, who happily agreed.

2013 Harding prayer
Football Players Pray for Injured Player (Used with permission; Photo by Jeff Montgomery)

After the game, athletes from both teams visited Robert Jordan in the hospital. A couple of days later, 75 students from Harding went to the hospital parking lot and used their bodies to spell out: Get Well #1, the number of Jordan’s jersey.

The Harding University Bisons and the Henderson State Reddies are arch rivals, competing in the Great American Conference. The mission statement on Harding’s website begins with these words: “Harding University is a private Christian institution of higher education committed to the tradition of the liberal arts and sciences.” Henderson State in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, is a public university. On an October Saturday afternoon student athletes from a Christian college and a secular one joined together in prayer .

In recognition of this display of compassion by the Harding team, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Committee on Sportsmanship and Ethical Conduct awarded Harding University with the 2013-14 NCAA Student-Athlete Sportsmanship Award (If you click on this link, scroll down to the bottom of the page to see the photo and story).

Faith is alive and well in America at Harding, at Henderson State, and even at the NCAA.

While I was writing this for you, I shared with Ray what I learned about this story on the Great American Conference and NCAA websites. He said, “It’s goodness. It’s being salt and light. It’s what college athletics ought to be instead of money and all that.”

I am thankful that, as you teach math and science and history and language arts to your children, you share the more important lessons of goodness and of being salt and light.

 You are the salt of the earth . . . You are the light of the world.
Matthew 5:13-14

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