"IN MY MOTHER'S EYES"

This story is about a skinny young boy who loved football with all of his heart. Practice after practice, he eagerly gave everything that he had, but being half the size of other boys his age, he got absolutely nowhere. At all of the games, he sat on the bench and hardly ever played.
This young teenager lived alone with his mother and the two of them shared a very special relationship. Even though the boy always sat on the bench, his mother was always faithfully in the stands and she never missed a game.
This young man was still the smallest of his class when he entered high school. His mother continued to encourage him but made it quite clear that he did not have to play if he didn't want to. Nonetheless,the young man loved football and decided to hang in there. He was determined to do his best at every practice. He figured that if he continued to try hard that he would eventually get to play. He never missed a practice or a game, but still remained a bench warmer all four years of high school. His mother continued to attend every game with pride, always with words of encouragement.

When the young man went to college, he decided to try out for the football team as a "walk-on". Everyone was sure
that he could never make the cut but he did! The coach admitted that he kept him on the roster simply because he always put his heart and soul into every practice, and at the same time, gave other teammates the spirit and hustle they badly needed. News had spread that he survived the cut and it thrilled the boy so much that he rushed to the nearest phone and called his mother.His mother shared his excitement and was sent season tickets for all of the games.

The persistent young athlete never missed a practice during his four years in college, but never got to play in
game.
It was the end of his senior football season and as he trotted onto the practice field shortly before the big game, the
coach met him with a telegram. The young man read the telegram and became deadly silent. Swallowing hard, he mumbled to the coach,"My mother died this morning. Is it alright if I miss practicetoday?" The coach put his arm gently around his shoulder and said "Take the rest of the week off, son. Don't even worry about coming to the game on Saturday."

Saturday arrived and the game was not going well and byhalftime the team was down by twenty-one points when the
sad young man quietly slipped into the empty locker room and put on his 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 got to play today!"said the young man. The coach pretended not to hear him. There was no way he wanted his worse player in the game now, but as the young man persisted, he finally felt sorry for him and gave in. "All right", the coach said "You can go in."

Before long, the coach, the players, and everyone else couldn't believe their eyes. This halfsized unknown, who
had never played before was doing everything right and the other team couldn't stop him. He ran, he passed, he blocked and tackled as his team began to fight its way back. Soon the score was tied and in the closing seconds of the game, the kid intercepted a pass and ran it back for the game winning touchdown. The fans broke loose. His teammates hoisted him onto their shoulders. Cheering began like you've 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?"With tears in his eye's, the young man sadly looked at his coach and said, "Well sir, you know that my mother died, but what people didn't know was that she was blind!" The young man swallowed hard and forced a smile, "My mom came to all of my games, but today was the first time that she could see me play and I just wanted to show her that I could do it!"

Like the young man's mother, God is always cheering for us.
He always reminds us to go on. He offers his hand for he knowswhat 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 it is to know that life is meaningful if lived for the highest. Live for HIM for HE is watching over us all in the game of life.

No matter whether you win or loss. RIGHT NOW:

Someone is very proud of you
Someone is thinking of you
Someone is caring about you
Someone misses you
Someone wants to talk to you
Someone wants to be with you
Someone hopes that you aren't in trouble
Someone is thankful for the support you have given
Someone wants to hold you hand
Someone hopes everything turns out all right
Someone wants you to be happy
Someone wants you to find him/her
Someone wants to give you a gift
Someone wants to hug you
Someone thinks you ARE a gift
Someone admires your strength
Someone is thinking of you and smiling
Someone wants to protect you
Someone can't wait to see you
Someone treasures your spirit
Someone is glad that you are their friend
Someone wants to get to know you better
Someone wants to be near you
Someone wants you to know that they are there for you
Someone would do anything for you
Someone wants to share their dreams with you
Someone is alive because of you
Someone needs your support
Someone will cry when they read this
Someone needs you to have faith in them
Someone trusts you
Someone hears a song that reminds them of you
Someone loves you
SOMEONE NEEDS YOU TO SEND THIS TO THEM!

Mike