Quite the contrary, doing something for others now provided a whole different level of satisfaction. It actually kept me from thinking about my past, and, for perhaps the first time in my life, I understood what it meant to serve others by allowing God to work through me.įor whatever reason, I had no desire to return to my former life of elevating myself every chance I got. Because I was in such a bad mental state, I didn’t know to implement this then, but more than a decade later, I remembered his letter and pulled it out.ĭoing things for others seemed to be exactly where I needed to be in my life. I do remember being impacted, however, by the thought that although I was at the lowest ebb of my life and everything was cascading down upon me, he admonished me to think beyond myself, to serve someone else. I couldn’t begin to think about others because I was in a seemingly timeless free fall. When I read that letter in my depths, I remember appreciating that Hugh thought enough to write me at this terrible juncture of my life, but I had no idea how to use this seemingly valuable advice because I was in such shock-especially the part about helping others. While not discounting the difficulties you will face in doing this, and the painful change involved, I have no doubt that you have the ability to do that. Focusing on doing good works in the future, while not avoiding the responsibility for those actions you regret engaging in, would seem to be one way to move forward. He mentioned others like Chuck Colson who had lost their moral compass but “took stock of themselves and acted in positive ways to contribute to the betterment of their communities.” He closed with this:ĭoing things which bring you a sense of contribution are their own reward and provide a counterweight to the current circumstances you find yourself in. He also suggested that I do acts of intrinsic kindness for someone with no consideration given to them having to repay the favor. He mentioned that “the same Dave Bliss who had valiantly scored twenty-eight points in a losing effort to Princeton in his final college game, was the same Dave Bliss who wouldn’t quit now.” His two-page letter encouraged me in several areas.įirst of all, he encouraged me to see the larger perspective-that we live in a fallen world and things happen, dreadful things, and we shouldn’t succumb to the world’s pity party. Hugh went on to share that, although he had four surgeries and numerous trips to a rehabilitative hospital, he had unfortunately also witnessed several patients in more dire conditions than his. He related to me that for the past nine years he had been coping with a spinal cord condition known as syringomyelia, the same condition that golfing legend Bobby Jones had contracted. His letter was a soothing reminder that my friends hadn’t all forgotten me, although I hadn’t conversed with Hugh since graduating, almost forty years prior. Within weeks of my resignation at Baylor in 2003, I received a letter from the senior manager of my Cornell basketball team, Hugh Snyder, Class of ’65. ![]() Below is an excerpt that includes portions from Chapter 26 titled “Service,” the second to last chapter of the book which summarizes his spiritual journey in the 10 years following the scandal at Baylor… ![]() More than a decade after Baylor University’s men’s basketball program fell to pieces, former college basketball coach Dave Bliss opens up about his personal journey-from worldly fame, to humiliation, to spiritual discovery-and the unfathomable grace revealed to him by a God who wants to give all of us a second chance at life.
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