Here is an
interesting and inspiring true story by Paul Harvey. You will be
surprised who this young man turned out to be. Do not look at the bottom
if this page until you have read it fully.
Years ago a hardworking man took his family from New York State to
Australia to take advantage of a work opportunity there. Part of this
man's family was a handsome young son who had aspirations of joining
the circus as a trapeze artist or an actor.
This young fellow, biding his time until a circus job or even one
as a stagehand came along, worked at the local shipyards which bordered on
the worse section of town. Walking home from work one evening this young
man was attacked by five thugs who wanted to rob him. Instead of just
giving up his money, the young fellow resisted. However, they bested him
easily and proceeded to beat him to a pulp.
They mashed his face with their boots, and kicked and beat his body
brutally with clubs, leaving him for dead. When the police happened to
find him lying in the road, they assumed he was dead and called for the
Morgue Wagon.
On the way to the morgue a policeman heard him gasp for air, and they
immediately took him to the emergency unit at the hospital. When he was
placed on a stretcher, a nurse remarked to her horror, that his young man
no longer had a face.
Each eye socket was smashed, his skull, legs, and
arms fractured, his nose literally hanging from his face, all his teeth
were gone, and his jaw was almost completely torn from his skull. Although
his life was spared, he spent over a year in the hospital. When he finally
left, his body may have healed but his face was disgusting to look at. He
was no longer the handsome youth that everyone admired.
When the young man started to look for work again, he was turned down by
everyone just on account of the way he looked. One potential employer
suggested to him that he join the freak show at the circus as The Man Who
Had No Face. And he did this for a while. He was still rejected by
everyone, and no one wanted to be seen in his company.
He had thoughts of suicide. This went on for five years. One day he passed
a church and sought some solace there. Entering the church, he encountered
a priest who had seen him sobbing while kneeling in a pew.
The priest took
pity on him and took him to the rectory where they talked at length. The
priest was impressed with him to such a degree that he said that he would
do everything possible for him that could be done to restore his dignity
and life, if the young man would promise to be the best Catholic he could
be, and trust in God's mercy to free him from his tortuous life.
The young man went to mass and communion every day, and after thanking God
for saving his life, asked God to only give him peace of mind and the
grace to be the best man he could ever be in His eyes. The priest, through
his personal contacts, was able to secure the services of the best plastic
surgeon in Australia. They would be no cost to the young man, as the
doctor was the priest's best friend. The doctor too was so impressed by
the young man, whose outlook now on life, even though he had experienced
the worst, was filled with good humor and love.
The surgery was a miraculous success. All the best dental work was also
done for him. The young man became everything he promised God he would be.
He was also blessed with a wonderful, beautiful wife, and many children,
and success in an industry which would have been the furthest thing from
his mind as a career if not for the goodness of God and the love of the
people who cared for him. This he acknowledges publicly.
The young man was and
is Mel Gibson.
Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson
Born: 3 January 1956
Where: Peekskill, New York, USA
His life was the inspiration for his production of the movie "The Man
Without A Face." He is to be admired by all of us as a God
fearing man, a political conservative, and an example to all as a true man
of courage. . And
to think I admired him before I knew any of this! He is quite a man!
His movie concerning the
death of Jesus (The Passion of the Christ)
just shows how God uses the
impossible for His honor and Glory.
~Paul Harvey~
The "Hollywood" Jesus to Calvary
We
are all faced with great opportunities brilliantly disguised as
impossible situations. We
cannot go back and create a new beginning but we can begin today to
create a new end. |
Tim
|