16 — Good News, etc. — April 2010 nc/sd
sports
By JOHN PHILIP WYLLIE
When Heath Bell became the San Diego
Padres closer last season he faced an incredibly diffi cult challenge. The man he was expected to replace, Trevor Hoffman, was for 16 seasons a highly revered and popular player. In fact, Hoffman, the MLB career saves leader was nothing short of a San Diego icon. Prior to last year, Bell, Hoffman’s set-up man for a season and a half, was little known outside of San Diego. That changed after Bell pitched brilliantly in 2009, was named to the NL All-Star team and led the National League with 42 saves. Having found fame and fortune
at the age of 32 one might think that Bell would feel just about as happy and fulfi lled as a person could be. In some ways he was, but still something was not quite right. “I knew I had a great wife, great kids and
“Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it.”
— 1 Cor. 9:24 (NKJV)
Reliever Bell scores special save
and made the Sunday services he once avoided something that he now looks forward to. Before long, Bell had signed up for a Wednesday night Bible study and soon plans to be formally baptized by Padres Chaplain Doug Sutherland. Bell and his wife also plan to renew their wedding vows. “Over the years my wife and I have both
made mistakes,” the reliever said. “I think I have made more than she has. We maybe were not having the best relationship, but then we found the Lord. Things have been great with us ever since.” While Bell has regrets about
Heath Bell
the mistakes he has made, he knows that as a Christian his transgressions have been forgiven. “We are no longer the people
a great job, but something was missing,” he said outside the Padres Peoria training facility. “I was never really satisfi ed. I don’t think we really (at fi rst) looked to the Lord to fi ll that (void) but we found Him. Sometimes, I think, you have to make some mistakes in order to fi nd Him. When everything is going great you sometimes tend to forget about the Lord.” After 10 years of marriage, Bell and his
wife Nicole found themselves in a bit of a funk and wanting to take their marriage to a higher level. “For the last couple of years we had
been on and off trying to fi nd a church, but had never really found one,” Bell said. “Eventually, we stumbled onto Horizon Christian Fellowship Church in Rancho Santa Fe and once we started there, everything just sort of clicked.” Horizon Pastor Bob Botsford guided Bell to a deeper understanding of the faith
that we were a year ago, or even six or seven months ago. We are different people and far better people now. I didn’t really know how to love, but now I do and I am truly happy. On the fi eld and off the fi eld (faith) has really opened my eyes to a lot of things. My personal life has gotten a whole lot better. I had so much fun being a big kid all the time, but I was never truly happy. I didn’t know how to love, but now I do.” Bell is eager to share his new found
happiness. “I am looking forward to Christian Fellowship Night at Petco Park (an event usually held in late July or in early August where the players share their testimonies). I don’t know what I will say. This interview is actually the fi rst time that I have talked about my faith publicly in an interview and that might be the fi rst time that I will do it (in front of a lot of people). I was in a real low point of my life and (Christ) has brought me up. He is always out there looking trying to help everybody. You just have to read the signs.”
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Padres players talk openly about their off-season spiritual lives
By JOHN PHILIP WYLLIE
For the last fi ve months the Padres
players have had a chance to relax, reconnect with their loved ones and pursue whatever it is that makes their spiritual life more meaningful. Interviewed at their Peoria spring training facility. This is what they shared: Adrian Gonzalez — “I got together with
The Rock Church and did a few things with them. They had a “Do Something” celebration going on. We also did our annual off-season Bible study. I read Jerry Bridges’ The Pursuit of Holiness and read my Bible almost every day. Other than that, I just tried to encourage as many people as I could.” Heath Bell — “People ask me what I
did this winter and I tell them that I fell in love with my wife again. We reconnected and found out how to love each other. So, my personal life got a whole lot better. It is hard for me to say it to some people, but I have told a few people that I found Jesus this winter. I don’t want to bombard people with it, but slowly it has been creeping in (to our conversations). I don’t want to scare anybody away. People might see me now by the way I live my life and wonder why I am so happy. If they notice and ask me I will tell them that Jesus became a part of my life and that is the true happiness that I have found.” Tony Gwynn — “I went with my mom
every Tuesday night to a Bible study just to try to get my mind right and learn more about God. I focused on my walk and made sure that I was doing things the right way. Church on Sunday is a must for me and my family. I grew up in the church with my mom. God is very important to me. I don’t take the time to read like I should, so Bible study is good because it is another way of learning about God. I found it extremely helpful. I took notes and listened to what the pastor said and learned about how it relates to baseball and life in general.” Chase Headley — “My wife and I changed churches and that was kind of a big deal. We had gone to our old church
for three or four years, but thought it was time to move on and go somewhere where we thought we could be a little bit more a part of the church. My wife has a nice group of friends that meet for a Bible study. We are trying to put one together for some of my friends that are in Knoxville and in baseball as well. The off-season is a great time to get back into helping other people and being involved in your community. That is something that we are really looking forward to this coming off-season.” Joe Thatcher — “I was raised Catholic
and I am able to attend church a lot more in the off-season. Church is still a must every week for my mom. I had that instilled in me. The off-season is a good time to relax. It gives you more time to think about (the spiritual) part of your life. I started a foundation and an endowment back home in Kokomo (Indiana). In December we had a dinner and a live auction that when really well. We ended up raising $42,000 in one night. It will be used to help the youth in that area. Half of it went to a Christian after-school program that was started by a buddy of mine. It felt good giving back to the community. My parents and my girlfriend’s parents did most of the work and put a lot of effort into it. It was a great night.” Nick Hundley — “I got married in December. Being with my wife and trying to grow with her in the Lord was the most important thing. I have worked everyday to treat her the way that she deserves to be treated. I want to treat her like Christ treated his followers and really be solid for her. I want to lead the way toward starting a family.” David Eckstein — “I really don’t change
too much of my daily life in the off-season. I try to keep the same spiritual attitude every single day and make sure that I never miss Mass on the weekend. I am very fortunate to be blessed with a great wife and family. I try to enjoy them a little more in the off- season. I was also fortunate to have loving parents that taught me to love the Lord from an early age. I try to be the same person 365 days of the year.”
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