PASTOR DAVE’S MUSINGS FROM THE HEARTLAND

June 15, 2022

SIXTY SIX SECONDS

On February 17, 2019, with one minute and six seconds left to play in the third quarter of a women’s basketball game between Purdue University and Northwestern at Mackey Arena, Purdue senior Nora Kiesler entered the game.   This was the first time she had played all year.  When her name was announced, the whole arena erupted into applause.  When the fourth quarter started, Kiesler was no longer in the game.  Her entire playing time for the season was sixty-six seconds.

For the casual spectator Nora’s sixty-six minutes of playing time might seem just a nice gesture on the part of Coach V to let a graduating senior play on senior night.  But there was much more behind those sixty-six seconds on February 17, especially when you know the rest of the story.  The summer issue of Forge, a magazine about inside Purdue University athletics, has a first-hand account of the lead up to those sixty-six minutes.

On January 19, 2014, Nora suffered a serious concussion from a head-to-head collision which resulted in her losing her memory for twelve hours.  She woke up in the hospital.  A year and a half later Kiesler would suffer concussions two, three, and four.  She suffered from constant headaches which affected her playing ability.  In the article in the Forge Nora describes in graphic detail the horror she went through.  A fifth concussion took place at a practice on July 3, 2018.

July 20, 2018, Nora received the news that the risk of playing basketball was too high.  With the exception of those sixty-six seconds on February 17, Kiesler spent the 2018-19 season sitting on the bench encouraging her teammates.  Nora closes her article in the Forge as follows: “Yes, my college experience was nothing like I planned it would be, but it was still more than I ever imagined.” (Forge, summer 2019, p. 9)

One cannot fully appreciate Nora Kiesler’s sixty-six seconds of playing time in the Purdue/Northwestern women’s basketball game on February 17, 2019, without knowing the rest of her story.  We have sixty-six seconds encounters with many people during our lifetime.  Based on these brief interactions we make conclusions about the persons without knowing the rest of their stories.  Unfortunately, these first impressions can be very wrong.

What would our impression be of King David if the only information we had about him was his relationship with Bathsheba and its consequences?  What would be our impression of Peter if the only information we had about him was his denying Jesus three times?  What would our impression be of Joseph if we only knew his story of being a spoiled child who was despised by his brothers?  What would be our impression of Paul if we only knew about his persecuting Christians?  What would be our impression of Elijah if we only knew about his hiding in a cave out of fear?

Some of you may remember Paul Harvey and “The Rest of the Story” vignettes on the radio.  Every week we would wait for some new tidbit about a famous person that helped to put his or her life into perspective.  Each episode would help to better understand someone who we thought we already knew.  Before we are quick to judge, we might want to pause and hold back our evaluation until we know the rest of the story.

I am grateful that I was in the stands for Nora Keisler’s sixty-six seconds.  However, I am even more grateful that I know the rest of her story.

A scriptural index for past articles can be found at musingsfromthehertland.com.