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Tears in Nashville

Micah was crying in Nashville again.

One year ago the University of Florida’s 7’1 center Micah Handlogten suffered a devastating injury in the championship game of the Southeastern Conference Tournament. The sophomore endured a compound fracture to his lower leg, a gruesome sight on live TV. His teammates gathered around him as he cried in pain, knowing he may never return to the sport he loved. 

Over the course of the season Handlogten recovered and rehabilitated his leg, with hopes to play again, not this year, but next. He was medically cleared to play in February, but the plan remained to sit out this season. After Florida lost two other big men to injuries, Micah decided to forgo his medical redshirt and suit up for the Gators. That meant he would be returning to the scene of his horrific injury: Nashville, and the SEC Tournament. 

Not only did he play on the same court where he got hurt, Handlogten’s Gators returned to the championship game and hoisted the trophy in victory. One year after he was crying on the court, being loaded onto a stretcher, Micah climbed the ladder and cut down the net, the ultimate prize for a basketball player. Now the larger-than-life figure had tears running down his face again, but this time they were tears of joy. What a difference a year made.

Everyone loves a comeback story, and Handlogten’s is just the latest in a long line of them. In fact, you may have your own comeback story. King David did. He wrote in Psalm 30:11, “You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness.”

Micah Handlogten was in mourning one year ago. This year, all season long the cameras would pan over to him on the sidelines, where he was his team’s biggest cheerleader (maybe not technically, since they have a 7’9 freshman). Handlogten was often seen dancing as he cheered on his teammates. 

God is good at turning our mourning into dancing. You might be in a season of mourning today, but it will not last forever. We don’t all get to experience nationally televised comebacks, but the Lord does great things for us. If you are in mourning today, just hold on, because your joy may come in the morning. 

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