So, the video your about to watch will move you, in my guess, tremendously. It is so self-explanatory, it doesn’t really need much in the way of backstory. But I thought it important enough to create this blog. Why? Well, because as we rush around this holiday season looking for the perfect gift for someone, it is worth stopping and noting that often the ‘perfect gift’ requires no rushing around to find it. No ‘Black Friday’ to purchase it. In fact, no real world currency at all. No money.
But make no mistake, currency is involved. And here’s the fantastic thing; we have more of it than we could ever need. However, this currency is often locked-up, surrounded by layers of societal b.s. that often make it impossible to peel those layers away and see it’s beauty and spend it. It is the currency of humanity and compassion. It’s where the heart takes over for the brain and says, “Stand back smarty, I got this one.”
This very thing happened this weekend at, of all things, a middle school wrestling match. Yes, sports. And kids. BTW, kids often put us adults to shame in the compassion n’ honesty department, but I digress.
12-year old Justin Kievit was ready to wrestle and win his match. He’d been practicing for this match for weeks. But, then, on the big day when it came his time to show his skills, wrestle and win, Justin showed a skill that surprised everyone. A skill that will serve him well for the rest of his life –as my daughter would say, ‘like, forever.” You see, he PURPOSELY lost the match.
His opponent was a 13-year old boy named Jared Stevens. Jared has been working out with his team all year, but had never wrestled in a match against another team. It wasn’t because he didn’t want to. In fact, he couldn’t wait. However, there was something called cerebral palsy which had stepped in and made it nearly impossible for Jared to wrestle in a competitive match. You could assume Jared would pay anything for the chance to represent his school and wrestle in a match just one time. As fate would have it, Justin Keivet had enough money, um, ‘currency’ to pay for Jared’s opportunity. As Jared’s coach reached out to the other team’s coach to see if Jared’s dream could be realized, all he asked for was if the opposing coach could find a kid “who has the kindest heart.”
This is what happened next. Click the link. Please forward this if you believe others might like it…
Justin Kievit, Middle School Wrestler, Lets Boy With Cerebral Palsy Win Match – YouTube.
