How we should live love

"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven." Matthew 5: 43-45a

May 1st was a special day in sports. With all the recent news of steriods, violence, delinquency of athletes, and fights breaking out....it was good to hear a story that should be the norm in the field of sports. Sara Tuchulsky, a softball player at the University of Western Oregon belted a homerun (her first in a four year career) and began her trot around the bases...only to have it stop at first when she tore her ACL. Unable to run the rest of the bases, Sara's coach asked if some of the Western Oregon players could help her make the rest of the trip. Under NCAA rules, this would have nullified the homer, and Sara would have only been credited with a single. Two players on the opposing team Mallory Holtman and Liz Wallace carried Sara around second, third, and on to home plate...making Sara's home run trot perfectly legal.
"I think as women, we're able to separate the competition...you know, seeing someone hurt there. We're just able to separate that from the need to do what's right." Read the article I took this quote from or watch a local newscast with some video of Sara being carried.
These were college athletes. Young women that had probably played since they were in first grade...maybe before. There's no doubt that they are competitive people. But they were able to separate competition and do what they knew was right. The key word is DO. Often we know what we should do, but don't. These girls knew, and did. Amazing. People actually treating each other with kindness and common courtesy...even a player on the opposing team. Sometimes people can be hard to love. Some people seem to work against you, or they're simply "not nice." Whatever it is, we're called to love everyone. No exceptions. Take the softball story as an example of knowing and doing the right thing- loving each other.