Great quotes in the Waterloo Courier last night. Ed Thomas, beloved football coach and community leader of Aplington-Parkersburg, was shot and killed last summer by a young man, Mark Becker, who was suffering from a mental illness and instability. The story made national press due to Coach Thomas' character and legacy in the community, and due to the supernatural presence of compassion and forgiveness that lived in both the families and the community. ESPN is airing interviews of the Thomas family tonight at 6 p.m., and an article in last night's paper has Jan Thomas, Ed's widow, quoted saying, "I think he would be very proud of how his boys responded and how the communities responded. And that's what we want. We want unity....we don't want people tearing each other down. It's not about how Ed died. It's about how we are called to live." Powerful, huh?
The reporter from ESPN was quoted saying, "I've never come across a story with as many layers as this one has. It went from sport to humanity in a heartbeat. Compassion and mercy are two words that keep coming back and are most common in mind."
Way to go, Thomas family, for reflecting the mercy and love of Jesus in such evident and powerful ways. As our church leader often says, "the people were amazed and perplexed." I think this story fits that statement.
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