A Brush with Greatness

My sophomore year of college, I had just barely earned my way onto the travel squad on our Grace College basketball team which allowed me the special opportunity to go to Los Angeles in late December 2000. We did some cool sightseeing, lost our two games, and had three interactions with sports legends.

One was a mere accident. We were hitting up the famous In-N-Out Burger when Rickey Henderson pulled in the driveway in a limousine. He rolled down his window and dapped us up. It was close to noon but he and his friends were dressed like they were going to the Oscars or some other prestigious party. Our guess, based on our quick observations, was that these folks were actually still partying from the night before.

The second interaction was a planned dinner with UCLA legendary coach, John Wooden. It felt like a visit to see a basketball pope - minding your P's and Q's, straining within the group setting to listen to every word he said, even going back to his apartment and trying not to trip over all of his "Coach of the Century" awards that littered his living room.

The third interaction was during a visit to a defending NBA Champion LA Lakers practice. Laker forward Rick Fox had been more or less "discovered" by our college coach and we'd used that connection to sit in some bleachers and watch these world class athletes play and compete...and goof around. Shaq had kicked a giant medicine ball during the practice after one of our party had snapped a picture with the flash on while he was shooting free throws. (He seemed playful about it because he'd missed, and the whole team had to run...make that jog down and back). Fox chatted with us for a good amount after practice, showing us around the facility once everyone had cleared out.

But at some point during our time there, as practice had ended, we'd noticed Kobe come out and conduct an sit-down interview across the gym with a reporter. To me, it seemed like a long interview, because we were waiting around for a good while before Fox came out.  Eventually, Bryant did end his interview and headed our direction. It was clear we were some sort of team or group. Being the burgeoning superstar that he was, he was more than willing to take some pictures with us.

That's me in the gray shirt and blue jeans..

I was and will always be a Boston Celtics fan - the historic arch-rival of the Lakers. But even this staunch supporter of the Shamrocks couldn't deny Bryant respect for his greatness. He was young then, close to the age of some of our upperclassmen in fact. His life and career still had so many ups and downs ahead of it. Yet he was a star and we all knew even more greatness lay ahead.

He did earn his place among the all-time great players. In terms of personal and team accomplishments, his resume stands up with anyone's. And tragically, his life ended yesterday in a helicopter accident that killed his daughter and 7 other people. We have all been confronted again with the fact that death is no respecter of persons. Famous or not, all those lives that were lost is a devastating reality. It comes for all of us. Yet Scripture over and over again encourages us that God has done something about the enemies that are sin and death - Hebrews 9:27-28 is one passage that comes to mind.

I cannot speak to Kobe's spiritual life. Others more qualified than I can speak to his basketball genius. It was a pretty neat experience to get to brush with greatness 19 years ago. But it was only 10 minutes.

So I share all of this not only to share my memorable experience, but also to remind myself and you that life is preciously short. Make the most of each day. Embrace Christ as the hope of eternity and live each day for God's glory. Love the people around you and make sure they feel it. Thank God for the mundane and special moments - whether you are grinding along or brushing up against greatness.

Music Mondays

A lot has taken place since my last post. Most significantly, we added a fourth member to our family - Elijah Harlow Compson, born on 12/31/20, 8 lbs 9 oz, 21.75" long. His two year old big brother has adjusted very well and so are mommy and daddy for the most part. We are blessed.

Our emotions are quite the opposite than one of the heroes of my youth. TobyMac, formerly of dc Talk and still a giant artist and producer in the CCM world, had his oldest son pass away suddenly this past fall. 

Now I am a father, that kind of experience hits home in a very real way. It is excruciating even to think about. The McKeehan's have expressed grace and faith in the few public statements they've given. And just recently, Toby came out with a powerful tribute to his son and this situation with a song that expresses grief, but also grace and faith.