One Last Game

Today I watched with sadness Lauren Hill's first and only collegiate basketball game today. For those who may not know, Lauren is a Greendale resident and Lawrenceburg High School graduate. She has inoperable brain cancer and has only months to live. Before being diagnosed with cancer, she signed on to play college basketball at Mt. St. Joseph University. Obviously she is no longer physically able to play competitively.

In a classy move, the university arranged to have the opening game moved up two weeks to allow Lauren to play in "One Last Game". The story has gone national and garnered a lot of media attention. In another classy move, Mt. St. Joe's opponents, Hiram College, allowed Lauren's team to run a set play to begin the game. The play was designed to allow Lauren the opportunity to make an uncontested layup with her non-dominant hand. The play went as planned and Lauren scored the only basket she will ever score in a college basketball game.

This is a gut wrenching story. Lauren is showing such bravery in facing death at a young age and she says she draws strength from a "never give up" attitude. Many people are getting inspiration from Lauren's story. The story is sad and I can't imagine watching one of my children go through something like this. But the real sadness lies in what is NOT being said in this story. Nobody is saying where all this strength and inspiration is coming from. There has not been one mention of God in this whole story. It's amazing how something like this can happen and the Lord is left out of the equation entirely.

Don't get me wrong. I am glad this story has gotten a lot of attention and I know this attention has caused a spike in donations for brain cancer research. I just think it's sad that something of this magnitude does not cause God's name to be evoked.