The Hands That Carried Her Home

On April 26, 2008, Western Oregon softball player Sara Tucholsky hit the first home run of her entire college career — a three-run shot over the center field fence. But as she rounded first base, her knee buckled. She collapsed in the dirt, clutching a torn ACL, unable to stand. The umpire confirmed the rules: if her own teammates touched her, she would be called out. Her home run would be erased.

Then something happened that no one expected. Mallory Holtman, the first baseman for the opposing team — Central Washington — walked over and asked the umpire a simple question: "Can we carry her?" The umpire saw nothing in the rulebook against it. So Holtman and her teammate Liz Wallace gently lifted Tucholsky off the ground and carried her around the bases, lowering her foot to touch each bag along the way.

Central Washington lost that game. It may have cost them a playoff berth. And neither Holtman nor Wallace hesitated for a second.

The Apostle Paul wrote, "Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ" (Galatians 6:2). Notice he didn't say carry the burdens of people who deserve it, or people on your team, or people whose pain is convenient for you. He just said carry them.

The church at its best looks like two opponents kneeling in the dirt, choosing to lift someone home.