When The United States Women's Softball Team Won ...  PRO

When the United States Women’s Softball team won the gold medal in Atlanta’s 1996 Olympic games, they lost only one game, but from that loss came a remarkable story about perseverance. In the fifth inning against Australia, Danielle Tyler hit a home run over the center-field fence. The American third baseman floated around the bases with a rush of adrenaline. When she was greeted by a swarm of well-wishing teammates at home plate she let the excitement distract her focus and she did not touch the base. When all of the yelling subsided, the Australian team quietly appealed to the umpire who dramatically called Tyler out. Rather than scoring a run, Tyler’s blast over the fence netted her team an out. As it ended up, had the lady slugger stepped on home plate, her team would have won 1-0. Instead, after seven innings of regulation play the game was tied at 0-0. In extra innings, Australia emerged with a 2-1 win and the U.S. team took their only loss of the Olympics. That disaster on the diamond reminds us of an important lesson in life—it’s important that we finish. It’s not enough to hit a ball into the cheap seats; you have to touch all of the bases as well. Whether you’re talking about a day, a project, a church year, or a life,...