Many will know the story of how, on New
Year's Day, 1929, Georgia Tech played the University of California in the annual
Rose Bowl football game. In that game a man
named Roy Riegels recovered a fumble for California. Unfortunately he became
confused and began running the wrong way. One of his teammates, Benny Lom,
overtook and tackled him just before he scored for the opposing team.
This was during the first half.
Everyone was wondering what Coach Nibbs Price would do with Roy Riegels in the
second half. During the half-time break Riegels sat alone in a corner, wrapped a
blanket around his shoulders, put his hands in his face and cried like a
baby.
Three minutes before the start of the
second half Coach Price looked at the team and said, "Men, the same team that
played the first half will start the second."
Riegels never moved. The coach called
him and again he never moved. Coach Price went over to where Riegels sat and
said, "Roy, didn't you hear me? The same team that played the first half will
start the second."
Reigels said, "Coach, I can't do it to
save my life. I've ruined you. I've ruined the University of California. I've
ruined myself. I couldn't face that crowd in the stadium to save my
life."
Then Coach Price reached out and put
his hand on Riegels' shoulder and said, "Roy, get up and go on back, the game is
only half over."
Roy Reigels went back. Those Tech men
will tell you they have never seen a man play football as Roy Riegels played
that second half.
And isn't that what God does for you
and me? Time and again we blow it. We fail. We mess things up. We feel like such
a failure. But Jesus is always there. He places a hand on our shoulder and says,
"Get up. Don't quit. I am with you. You are forgiven. I love you and I will
never leave you or forsake you no matter what!"
Actually, if we were to translate
Jesus' words literally, they would read, Jesus said, "I will never, never,
never, never, never (five times over) leave you or forsake you," or "I will
never, not ever, no never leave you or forsake you."
As the saying goes, the only real
failure is not to get up one more time than we fall or get knocked
down.
from a post on a yahoo Christian group
Gato