One Day, Two Stories

Albert Pujols

The Sunday Parade Magazine ran a story about Bethany Hamilton, a promising surfer who lost an arm in a shark attack. Just weeks after the tragedy she got back in the water and learned how to balance her suddenly asymmetrical body on the board. She turned pro in 2007 and now travels the globe on the professional circuit.

She’s also “published five nonfiction books that reflect her strong sense of spirituality.” According to AnnaSophia Robb, who plays Bethany’s part in the film Soul Surfer, “Bethany looks at the attack as a blessing because she’s been able to do so much through it. She could have been a one-week news story, but now she’s inspiring millions.

After the tsunami in Thailand she led 50 children into the water. She says, “Helping them to overcome their fear of the ocean was a great opportunity. There aren’t a lot of good role models out there, so it’s cool that I could be one.”

The amazing 21 year-old is focused on others. She says “I realized that telling my life story could change people’s perspectives on hard times they’re going through.” And so she does.

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That evening, 60 Minutes ran a segment about Albert Pujols, the stellar baseball player for the St. Louis Cardinals. Each year in his first 10 years of major league play he’s batted over .300, hit at least 30 home runs and knocked in over100 RBI’s. It’s a record unequaled by anyone, ever.

But the story wasn’t about baseball prowess. It was about the big heart of a guy with boundless compassion and love for people. Pujols sponsors a prom for kids with Down syndrome each year. They walk down a red carpet  in tuxedos and gowns for a night of dancing and fun. Pujols and his wife Deidre attend and stay for the evening. The boys are thrilled to be around him and Albert never declines a chance to dance with the girls.

Each year he travels to the poverty stricken shanty towns of his native Dominican Republic. In places where new clothes and shoes are “like gold,” Pujols finances medical care and provides for other needs. He intends to expand his help to more towns, saying it’s his passion.

In 2010 he joined an elite group by hitting his 400th home run. He quietly took the bat to Texas Children’s Hospital and presented it to a boy with a malignant brain tumor. No press was there – just a “real happy” thirteen year-old hanging out with the best baseball player in the world.

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These extraordinary people are both dedicated Christians who live their faith, but somehow the word “Christian” wasn’t mentioned in either story. No doubt it would have figured prominently if they burned a Quran or picketed a military funeral like the bogus “Christians” who get hyped.

But it’s typical of a media that likes to unfairly cut our faith down while ignoring its nobility.

To view a trailer for Soul Searcher, a movie about Britney please click on

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnSrETbfd5Q&feature=player_embedded

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