Heart Touchers

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*A Different Kind of Athlete* 11/12/01

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"A Celebration of Life," is finally here! Close to 200
pages of true short stories filled with love and laughter
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It is with great pleasure that I get to share another story
from Jaye Lewis today! If her story doesn't touch
your hear then you need to go to the emergency
room immediately and get your heart started again!
Thank you for sharing this incredible story about an
incredible young lady Jaye!

Be sure to write to both Jenny and Jaye today and let
them both know what you thought of today's story...

From my family to yours,
Michael
P.S. A special thank you to the hundreds of new
subscribers we picked up this last week. May the
stories we run put a tear on your cheek, a spring in
your step, and hope in your heart...

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A DIFFERENT KIND OF ATHLETE

By Jaye Lewis

We found out that Jenny was hearing impaired, when
she was four and a half years old. Several surgeries
and speech classes later, when she was seven,
we found out that Jenny had Juvenile
Rheumatoid Arthritis.

She could not put pressure on the heels of her
feet, so she walked on tiptoe, and when the
pain became unbearable, I carried her.
Jenny was fortunate, though, because she
did not suffer the deformities, often associated
with JRV.

All through grade school, and on into high
school, Jenny suffered, yet never complained.
She took her medicine, and I would often
wrap her feet in steaming towels, and hold
her until the pain eased. But, as soon as
she could withstand the pain, Jenny,
immediately, carried on, as though she
were pain free.

She wore a smile on her face, a song on
her lips, and a love and acceptance of others,
that was, simply, amazing. I don't remember
her ever voicing self-pity. She ran, when she
could run. She played when she could play,
and she danced when she could dance. And,
when she could do none of these things, she
took her medicine, and she waited until she could.

Jenny, a beautiful blonde, with warm brown
eyes, was never a cheerleader. She never
competed in a sport. She could not even
take part in a Gym Class, though she took
the same health class four years in a row,
just so she could pass with a substitute
credit each year. She joined the band.
She won a place in the Governor's School
for the Arts; yet, no one in the Charleston,
South Carolina School System knew what
to do with Jenny. The perimeters were,
simply, not in place to deal with a student,
who was both active and handicapped.

Jenny continued to have one surgery after
another on her ears, all through school.
Her hearing improved to 60%, and she
taught herself to read lips. She carried a
pillow to school, all through high school, and
once, when she suddenly experienced
crippling pain, her friends scooped her up,
and carried her from class to class.

She was totally mainstreamed, popular, and
funny, attending every football game, cheering
the team on, carrying her pillow everywhere she
went, so that she could cushion the pain, when
she sat down. Then came her senior year.
She would be considered for scholarships;
however school activities, especially sports,
could often mean the difference between
receiving an award or losing out.

So Jenny came to a decision; and in her quirky,
unorthodox manner, she began to bombard the
high school football coach. She begged. She
pleaded. She promised. She got her best friend
to sign up with her. Finally the coach gave in,
with the admonition, "If you miss ONE game,
you're out!" So, Jenny became Manager of the
Garrett High School Football Team.

She carried big buckets of water to her
teammates. She bandaged knees and
ankles before every game. She massaged
necks and backs. She gave pep talks. She
was continually at their beck and call, and it
turned out to be one of the best years for Garrett
High School Football Team, in its twenty-five
year history. Often Jenny could be seen
carrying a bucket of water in each hand, nearly
dragging them, along with her pillow tucked
under her arm.

When asked why he thought that the team
was winning all their games, even in the face
of injury, one linebacker explained, in his soft,
Charleston drawl, "Well, when you've been
knocked down, and you can't seem to move,
you look up and see Jenny Lewis, limping
across the field, dragging her buckets and
carrying her pillow. It makes anything the
rest of us may suffer seem pretty insignificant."

At the Senior Awards ceremony, Jenny received
a number of scholarships to College of Charleston.
Her favorite scholarship, however, was a small
one from the Charleston Women's Club. The
President of the Women's Club listed Jenny's
accomplishments, starting with her grades,
and ending with an excited, "...and the first girl
to letter in football, in Garrett High School history!!"

Jaye Lewis
jlewis@smyth.net

Write Jaye and let her know what you thought of her story!

Footnote to story: Jenny Lewis-Hamblin is going
to be thirty years old this month. She is happily
married to Tommy Hamblin, who is very precious
to our family. Jenny is still the same sweet spirit
that she was throughout her life...still in pain, still
uncomplaining, still courageous, and one of the
finest Christian woman I have ever known. Tommy,
also, has been battling a health problem that is life
threatening; yet he does it with humor, courage
and faith. If you would like to contact Jenny and
Tommy, to lift them up, you can reach them at:

jennyrlh@hotmail.com

Please reference the story in the subject line;
and please remember them in your prayers.

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Jaye is a freelance, writer, wife of a retired Navy
Chief Electrician, and mother of three grown
daughters, who still amaze her. She's also thrilled
to be living in the beautiful Blue Ridge
mountains, of southwest Virginia.

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Reader Feedback!

I love Irene's stories! She makes me feel like I'm right there with her
watching through her eyes. "Night Terrors" was another great one!
Blessings,
Sue Henley
doupray2@charter.net

Dear Michael,
Thank you so much for the story about Iwo Jima, I also had six brothers who served our country in the Air Force, Navy, Army and my father came over here from Sicily and joined the Foreign Legion before joining up with the army to fight in WWI, and they all came back alive, wounded but alive. Now the are all gone but one is still surviving and he was in the European theater and the dreams and memories are still haunting him in fact now more than ever. perhaps because he is getting older. I am proud of all of the men and women who serve our country.
Michael, for one so young you have a depth about your relationship with God that is so refreshing and also quite different from so many we see today at your age. Thank you for following God's direction and keeping this site going. I have connected several friends of mine because it is such a blessing to read your articles each morning. I look forward to them and may I say one more thing to people out there who are not quite sure about how their relationship to God is, scroll on down to the four spiritual laws and go t here. That is how I came back to Christ and made Him Lord of my life, It is the answer, Folks, the only answer. I realize this is too long to print but I had to let you k now how very much this means to me. It is a glorious way to start my day. Praise the Lord. God bless you and your beautiful family.
Nanci L. Stroupe
ONENONI@aol.com

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Thought For The Day:

"We don't need anymore leadership training; we
need some followership training." --Maureen Carroll

Verse for the Day:

"Anyone who does not take his cross and
follow me is not worthy of me." --Matthew 10:38

Kid's Thought For The Day:

"You can't unspill a glass of milk."

Parent's Thought For The Day:

"We never know the love of the parent till we
become parents ourselves." --Henry Ward Beecher

Coach's Thought For The Day:

"It's the little details that are vital. Little things
make big things happen." --John Wooden

Deep Thought For The Day:

"There are two rules for ultimate success in life.
1. Never tell everything you know."

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_
/_/\/\    MICHAEL T. POWERS
\_\ /    HeartTouchers@aol.com
/_/ \    "For I have been crucified with Christ and I no
\_\/\ \   longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I
\_\/   live in the body I live for the Son of God, who
   loved me and gave Himself for me."
   Galatians 2:20
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least! Within thirty seconds my mom was crying
and my dad did too. They said it was the best
Christmas gift we could have given them!! You
did such a beautiful job! They were so surprised
and so touched--they really, really, really loved it.
Thanks for helping to make it so special to us all.
My mom mentioned how the songs were perfect
for the video too! Thanks again!"
Kelli-- College Station, TX

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