One of the greatest men that I have ever known is Harold C. “Pete” Fewell.  I will be writing my next three blogs honoring him and all he has been for all who know him.  In my life, he has been a friend, a mentor, a father figure, and a confidant. He is the epitome of loyalty, honesty, work ethic, kindness, and perseverance.

 

In November of 1970, Pete was a college student at Marshall University—and a stat keeper for their football team.  In the week leading up to their game with East Carolina, another stat keeper asked him to “trade trips”. It was Pete’s turn to go on the road trip and he wanted to go.  But the other stat keeper begged him to go……and Pete finally agreed. One of the last things he said was to the effect of: “you owe me one”.

 

Little did Pete know, that was the last word he would speak to anyone in the organization.  On November 14, 1970, after a 17-14 loss at East Carolina, the Marshall plane went down. There were no survivors among the 75 people on the plane.  Coaches, players, boosters, crew, and stat keepers were all killed on that terrible day.

 

Pete was not the only one who stayed behind or missed that flight.  Rich Taglang, Nate Ruffin, and Ed Carter were not on that plane either.  And I am sure that all suffered greatly from Survivor’s Guilt…..a mental condition that occurs when a person survives a traumatic event when others did not.

 

I am not sure how much or how little Pete suffered from that……what I do know is that Pete’s life has made a difference.

 

Pete has changed the life of many, many people for the good.  He has been a pillar of generosity in our community: President of the Longmont Junior Baseball League.  Generous donor of uniforms and equipment to all area high schools. The LT that now resides on most of the Longmont gear was designed by him.  And even as an avid Longmont supporter, he has been incredibly generous to ALL of the schools. Donating time and money at Niwot. Buying legion uniforms.  Sponsoring athletes to go to camps and all state games. His generosity mostly anonymous and always generous. If Pete could now look in a mirror and ask: “did I deserve to be the survivor on that fateful day in 1970?”  The answer would be, without question, YES!!! Pete has changed hundreds, even thousands, of lives….

 

And so my question to all of us is…..

 

What are we going to do with our lives?

 

We don’t need a traumatic event to change our mindset…..just an encounter with God.

 

You see, we weren’t on that plane.  But the plane we ARE ON will not find a destination where we make it…..we won’t make it out of this life alive.  We will all crumble and deteriorate and eventually take our last breath.

 

And then what?

 

The Lord has something better for us.  It isn’t football games, or fame, or money, or popularity.

 

It is purpose.  It is to walk as His child and live a life of love.

 

It is really a simple formula.

 

  • God Has Called Us To Receive Him………………             John 1 12 Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God– 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
  • God Has Called Us To Make A Difference………     Matthew 28  19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
  • God Has A Place For Us……………………………        1 Corinthians 2   9 However, as it is written: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him  

 

Jesus’ first encounter walking into His destiny was the test of His life (Luke 4).  The Bible says that He felt and experienced all we experience—so I am sure He wondered if He was going to make it.  We will be tested too.

 

And we will also wonder if we will make it.  We will also encounter tests and trials as we try to walk out the call God has put on our lives…..and our enemy will always try to tempt us with a quick fix, a shortcut, or a different plan.  Of course the enemy would not want us to live out the course of our life in God’s plan.

 

But sooner or later we will have to stake our claim and our allegiance and our spirit to SOMETHING…….because the plane we are on will not fly forever.

 

In The Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

 

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Coach J