A week ago Monday, the football world and millions of Americans held their breath in hopes that one young man would win a much more important battle than the kind on the gridiron–or as his doctors called it, “the game of life.”
As you likely know by now, that player is Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin, who collapsed after a tackle during the Monday Night Football game between his team and the Cincinnati Bengals. And unsurprisingly, given the high emotions connected to the place where he was injured, the game between the two AFC rivals at Cincinnati’s Paycor Stadium has since been cancelled completely.
He’s made a remarkable recovery, with the most recent updates being that Hamlin is now able to breath on his own and is starting to be able to move his hands and feet.
Now, there’s another positive sign he’s doing better, which you might have missed during the broadcast of Saturday evening’s play-off game between the Tennessee Titans and the Jacksonville Jaguars.
An ABC Sports announcer shared the remarkable fact that Hamlin has recovered enough to finally be able to thank everyone who has been lifting him up in prayer. The network then showed on-screen a tweet from Hamlin’s official Twitter account, which reads:
Putting love into the world comes back 3xs as much… thankful for everyone who has reached out and prayed. This will make me stronger on the road to recovery, keep praying for me!
The message ends with a heart emoji and his jersey number, 3.
Putting love into the world comes back 3xs as much… thankful for everyone who has reached out and prayed. This will make me stronger on the road to recovery, keep praying for me! 🫶🏾3️⃣
— 𝐃𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐫 𝐇𝐚𝐦𝐥𝐢𝐧 (@HamlinIsland) January 7, 2023
He followed that up, during the game, with a second message to fans:
The love is felt, & extremely real. No matter race or religion everybody coming together in prayer!
The love is felt, & extremely real. No matter race or religion everybody coming together in prayer! 🙏❤️
— 𝐃𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐫 𝐇𝐚𝐦𝐥𝐢𝐧 (@HamlinIsland) January 8, 2023
If there are any more important messages to share as Christians, I don’t know what they are. We’re taught to welcome the chance to give to others, to put someone else’s circumstances before our own needs. Of course, the central edict from the Bible: to love as Christ loves us, which means to love everyone–no matter who they are.
Keep praying for this young man in his recovery.
Story cited here.
