Thursday, February 12, 2009

Just to Be With You

I must admit, I’m not much of a Golf fan. Last year, there was some big golf tournament going on in Georgia. I think it was the masters. Normally, I wouldn’t know or really care about who was playing or winning in this event. This past year, however, one player caught my attention. Drew Weaver is a 21-year-old kid from High Point. He attends Virginia Tech and was there the year when tragic shootings killed 33 fellow students. But, the thing about him that peaked my interest the most was has to do with his mother, Cathy.

Apparently, Cathy has suffered from Rheumatoid Arthritis for most of her life and her knees had taken the hardest hit from the disease. She was in constant pain, even unable to sleep at night. The disease also had begun to prevent her from being there, at each hole, to cheer on her son, Drew when he played Golf. Last summer, when Drew played in and won the British Open, she could only bear to watch the last three holes. And, I’m guessing that’s when she decided she had to do something.

So, Cathy made the decision have both knees replaced…at the same time. Because of the difficult recovery period from this surgery, most people only have one knee done at a time. But, that was not an option for Mrs. Weaver. Her boy was going to be in the masters and she was going to be there to cheer him on…at every hole. So she had the intense surgery last February and then began the long, hard road to recovery.

Her determination paid off. Cathy made it to the Masters. At each hole, she was there. Drew Weaver’s biggest fan…who did what had to be done in order to be there for her child. How deeply loved he is!

Friend, you are loved even more! You have Parent in heaven who is watching every move you make, cheering you on in your victories and encouraging you when you fall. And, He made an incredible sacrifice because he wants to be with you…forever. For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16).

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Tami, I just received this link to your site tonight. How sweet of you to feature "my" story. Just to keep me from sounding like a superhero, my surgery was in Nov. before the masters in April so I had a couple of more months to recuperate (and boy did I need them). I just this past weekend walked my 33rd, 34th and 35th round of golf since the knee replacement surgery - watching Drew of course. What joy it is to be able to do this (we figure this weekend alone was 18 miles worth of walking). The support I've had from High Point, my unity group from church and my family has been incredible. But you are right - it takes faith in a much higher power to make it through all of life's storms. Lots of people are going through pretty challenging storms right now. We just have to remember that Christ weathered the same storms we face (and then some). And our challenges here are temporary. That's something I learned through my mother's death (at age 53) and my brother's death (at age 34). We can't possibly survive any of these challenges alone. My deepest appreciation to you for featuring this story.

Tami said...

Cathy,

I am so excited that you were able to read my devotional featuring your story! I just re-aired this devotional this week. I wanted to focus on love this week w/ Valentine's day on Saturday, and yours is definitely a story of love. Thanks so much for "stopping by" and leaving your sweet comment. My prayers are with you and Drew!

Tami