His Eye Is On The Sparrow

stolen w/o permission from Facebook*

I watch a lot of sports on TV and attend my share of live events at my son’s high school.  Injuries are inevitable in sport.  When I see a player get hurt, there is a scene that always flashes through my mind.  I was 7th grade toe-picker riding the pine while my schoolmates played real basketball out on the floor.  It was my first year in “organized” sports in Rising Star, Texas and I wasn’t any good so Coach Weldon Hill was right to use my weight to keep the bench from floating up into air.  In the midst of an away game in Gorman, Texas, my classmate and gifted athlete, Craig Campbell, jumped to catch a long, high pass coming to him at mid-court.  At the same time a ne’er-do-well Gorman Panther jumped to block the pass.  I’m not sure if either player even touched the ball, but their collective momentum created a spectacular crash.  Craig fell backwards onto the floor – his head leading the way.  To describe a short period of time we use hyperbole like “blink of an eye”.  Well, in exactly one half of a blink of an eye Weldon Hill was up off the bench and out on the floor, before Craig even felt the pain that was just about to shoot through his body.  Coach Hill’s reaction was so swift it was almost a “pre-action”.  I was stunned by his attentiveness and flight to action.  Those of us who still love Coach are not surprised.  Let’s catch a word from our Sponsor:

Not one sparrow (What do they cost? Two for a penny?) can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. (Matthew 10:29 TLB)

We’re earth-bound creatures and we tend to focus on what happens here on earth.  It is very difficult for us to comprehend what happens in heavenly places.  Because God does not walk among us, we rarely consider that He watches over us.  (Micro-illustration: Hunters can set up shooting stands in trees because deer never look up.)  Followers of Jesus embrace the promise of scripture that God cares for us enough to attend to our every step.  And we ask Him to not only watch our steps, but to guide them as well.

Weldon Hill was created in God’s image; he demonstrated as much that night in Gorman.  I assume that when Craig jumped up Coach calculated that the coming down part was going to be problematic.  To this day, when I see a sports injury in a game, I compare the response time of the medical staff to Weldon Hill’s pre-action.  In 41 years, no one has ever come close – NEVER.  For my hometown readers, this post will bring warm remembrance of a truly great man.  I'm a better man today because of the influence of Weldon Hill.  Even if you didn’t know him, I hope you’ve had the privilege of having a Weldon Hill in your life – someone who has your best interests at heart even when you didn’t know it.

"Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16)

In this and so many other wonderful ways, Weldon Hill let his light shine.

Clark H Smith