by greg stone

The game went down to the wire. We were perched behind the Branson basket in the final minutes. With only a few seconds left. Branson, down by a point, inbounded the ball and tossed it downcourt to Tim Russell, senior forward. Tim shot the ball and at the buzzard, swish! All you could hear in the recording was Jeff and myself screaming with the fans! Glorious!

My fears were realized on the first day of practice after the cuts. At that time, freshman went to school with 7^th and 8^th grade students at the Junior High up the hill from downtown Branson. We walked all the way to Mang Field that first day right after school. As we walked into the locker room with the concrete floor, Coach McDaniels and the other players were sitting and chatting. I was the last one to walk in. Coach McDaniels looked at me, smiled and announced in front of everyone, “Well look it here. It’s ol’ Glad to Be Here!” Everyone laughed.

My neck hurt for about a week after that accident, and was one of the reasons, along with my elder brother’s injured knee, that I could never play football in Junior High or High School. The sore neck reminded me of the incident and my brief moment of fame in our school. Girls were concerned about me. Guys teased me. It was glorious!

Finally, after going together with kids and other leaders on a ski trip after Christmas, I gathered the courage to ask Jodi on a date. We went to see the movie, Dances with Wolves in Springfield. I remember the theater was pretty full. After getting our seats, I went to get us popcorn and drinks. Coming back, I decided to have a little fun. I pretended to have trouble finding her and walked right past our row. I stepped all the way to the front of the theater, turned around, and in my best Rocky voice yelled out, “Jodi! Jodi!” A small hand raised halfway up the theater and I walked back up to our seats, snickering all around us.

I remember Friday mornings during my senior year in high school, picking up David Clemenson at his home, and then driving to the Rustic Oak Restaurant a little ways down...

On January 29^th I had my most severe SVT, causing me to pass out while driving my truck on highway 13 near the Reeds Spring Junction. My truck narrowly missed four other vehicles and traveled while still in cruise control 900 feet into a wooded area. Authorities said I killed 18 cedar trees on my journey into the wild. I woke up, yelled out to God, and immediately thought to hit my brakes. Thankfully, my truck didn’t roll, though it was totaled from the battle with the trees. Paramedics on the scene said my heart rate was 220 and rushed me to the ER.

Science, once thought to be the enemy of those who believe in God, truly points to the reality of a Designer outside of our space and time. Our universe, science now asserts, has a beginning point. Since everything created must have a cause, who or what caused our universe, with all its intricate laws and amazing fine-tuning in order for us to have life here on earth?