98 lines
5.5 KiB
Plaintext
98 lines
5.5 KiB
Plaintext
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HIS NICKNAME IS THUNDER
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. His Nickname is Thunder, but even in Cleveland, that is a
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misnomer. The only thing outwardly intimidating about Andre Thornton
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is his size. He looks like a guy who could snap a bat in half with
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his bare hands.
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. But don't be misled by appearances. His voice is tissue paper
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soft, his manner extra polite. Andre Thornton is a deeply religious
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man who has found in baseball a vehicle to convey a very special
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message, even while he's terrorizing American league pitchers. That
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is why the story of yet another remarkable comeback by the 32 year old
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first baseman-designated hitter is unique.
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. Through his 16 year professional baseball career, Andre Thornton
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has survived frustration, rejection and the ultimate tragedy of losing
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his wife and a child in a 1977 car accident. For two recent seasons,
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the 6-foot-2, 205 pound Thornton was in virtual hibernation, chiefly
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because of injury. But now he is back. In fact, he's on a rampage.
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- Larry Whiteside, Sportswriter for the Boston Globe.
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TRAGEDY ... TRIUMPH
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. Obviously, power hitter Andre Thornton has endured much more than
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baseball injuries or fickle batting slumps. His most painful
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experience began on an icy night in October 1977 when the van he was
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driving skidded off the Pennsylvania turnpike. Thornton's wife and 3
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year old daughter were killed, leaving only Andre and his 4 year old
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son as survivors.
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. "There is no doubt that the accident was like tearing the insides
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right out of me," says Thornton. "My first wife and I both loved the
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Lord. She was a wonderful woman. We spent seven years together. I
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felt God's presence right there on that highway in Pennsylvania I felt
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God's peace. Now I'm thankful that I knew Him years before, that I
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didn't have to come to that point in my life and see my wife and child
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lying on a highway and have no hope at all ... [Hope] is the essence
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of life."
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. That tragedy was the true test of Andre's faith. It proved that
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his outer composure was more than just a mask - it was the result of a
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deep inner stability, a firm spiritual foundation. That's why he
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received the 1978 Danny Thompson award for "exemplary Christian spirit
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in baseball," and the 9th annual Roberto Clemente Award for his
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"sportsmanship, character, community involvement and contributions to
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team and baseball."
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HOW IT ALL BEGAN
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. But Thornton remembers how it all began in 1968, just months
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after entering professional baseball. He had just joined the National
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Guard and was alone in his room. "It was one of the loneliest times
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of my life," he says. "Everything seemed to be so confusing, and
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questions about life were boiling inside of me. It wasn't money I was
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looking for. It wasn't clothes or houses or a profession that had
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prestige. I wanted to know what life was all about, why I was here,
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where I was going. The questions were demanding an answer. Here I
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was, experiencing all the things that most people want, but the world
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could not give the true answers that I needed so urgently."
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. It was then that Thornton started to read the small tract that
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his mother had given him earlier. For the first time Thornton
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understood Christ's words: "I came that they might have life, and
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might have it abundantly." (John 10:10) "I knew that was what I was
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looking for," Thornton says, "life, abundant life. Here was the
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answer to my question. First God had a purpose for my life. He
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created me in order that I might enjoy Him and serve Him. Second,
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when I died, I could know that I would have eternal life with God."
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. Thornton realized that he needed a new spiritual life. "The
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Bible told me that 'all have sinned and fall short of the glory of
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God' (Romans 3:23), and that 'the wages of sin is death' (Romans 6:23)
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which means spiritual separation from God." He understood that his
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sin was the reason why he wasn't experiencing abundant life. "Then I
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read that there was a solution to this problem," Thornton recalls.
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"The key ... was my believing in God's Son, Jesus Christ. The Bible
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says, 'God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He
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who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does
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not have the life. These things [were] written to you who believe in
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the name of the Son of God, in order that you may KNOW that you have
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eternal life' (I John 5:11-13). Believing that Jesus Christ had died
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on the cross to pay the penalty for man's sin, and knowing that He had
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risen from the dead, Thornton got down on his knees and asked Christ
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to be his personal Savior.
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AN INFINITE RESOURCE
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. "It's been more than ten years since I invited Jesus Christ to
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come into my life, to forgive me of my sins, and to change my life.
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And I have found Him to be the source of joy, peace, love - of all
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things I ever wanted in life. There have been trials and tragedies,
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but God has brought me through all of them."
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. Sometimes we experience problems and trials that we can't
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understand. I've learned that there is one thing I can trust and that
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is what God says in His Word. That comforts me and reassures me, even
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when all of my questions aren't answered."
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. That confident assurance enables Andre Thornton to remain calm
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through all the circumstances of life. He has found a stability in
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God, and inner foundation which holds him up when life threatens to
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overwhelm him. He keeps swinging at life's tough pitches.
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Computers for Christ - Chicago
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