Only A Christian

A strong community.

A powerful man.

A huge heart.

A lost, broken soul.

A message of forgiveness.

A story of tragedy.

A deep faith.

Ed Thomas, coach of Aplington-Parkersburg football team in Iowa, started his day out as he normally did- in the weight room at the high school. And, minutes later, it ended in his death, as a former student and player gunned him down, taking his life. As Coach Thomas' son said, the family of Mark Becker needs support, forgiveness, and prayers as much as the family of Coach Thomas needs it. I stared in disbelief, with tears stinging my eyes, at the son who spoke those words and wondered if I would be as strong in the same situation. Only a situation like that would make you dig to the very bottom of your soul and just hope that you found your Christianity alive in there somewhere. His son said that much had been said in the media about him- a great family man, a community supporter, an amazing coach, an awesome teacher, a mentor - but that they wanted it to be known he was a Christian, a man of deep faith. That's what they wanted his legacy to be. It's a terrible tragedy, unthinkable, unimaginable, unnecessary and I can't imagine how the family and community will get through it. But, what I do know is that only a Christian can come out of a situation like this and still see the light, still see the other side, still find forgiveness in their heart, and despite it all, still believes. Only a Christian. Thank God they have their faith - because when the dust settles, the trophies are put away, the NFL players he coached retire, the books are on the shelves - well, you still have your faith.

You can read the whole story at Sports Illustrated here- trust me, the long article is worth the read.
http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1157377/1/index.htm