September 16, 2002
MEDALS OF HONOR:
Buckner resident James Harris
___By Russ Dilday
___Buckner News Service
___LUBBOCK--James Harris is an endurance runner, and a good one. The dozens of medals hanging in his room at Buckner Children's Home in Lubbock attest to his success in cross-country, 1,600-meter and 800-meter races in district, regional and state competitions.
___Endurance running is not his life, however. Instead, his life is an endurance race. Harris, now 18 and a senior at Coronado High School, came to the home as a 7-year-old amid many personal setbacks.
___"Life is like cross country, because in cross country you have to practice, and in my life I have had to practice," he explained, recounting obstacles he has endured. "First, I moved away from Mom and Dad. Then my dad died. When I was 6, my grandma died. But I grew stronger. I had to win first all the time. I got used to it. I built up my legs and heart."
JAMES HARRIS shows off the large collection of medals he has won as a cross-country runner. With help from Texas Baptists, he has learned how to run the race of life as well.
___Likewise, he has focused on training as a runner. "I wanted to be a basketball player. When I was in elementary school, I was sorry, I was slow. But I began getting confidence, building myself up, so I could run better and began running track."
___If life is like a race for Harris, he began his race behind many others. Home administrator Melissa Opheim was working as an intake coordinator when Harris came into the home's care and remembers his first years.
___"James was 7 at the time and a member of a sibling set of 10," she recalled. "We received eight of them into our care on the campus. The story of this removal from a home has been used as a training tape for children's protective workers."
___But, she said, Harris quickly began to pull ahead in life's race.
___"During his stay with us, James has adjusted to his life situation. He maintains contact with his mother and siblings. He has overcome disabilities with his hands and has participated in speech therapy. James is a leader in his home and in his youth group and is an example to us all about how persistence and determination help you to manage difficult situations to the best results possible."
___Others have acknowledged his winning spirit both on and off the track. After a recent district cross-country meet, Coronado coach Cal Lowry wrote Harris, telling him: "It makes me very proud to hear your head coach, Jackie Stewart, give the highest praise to you. He told me, 'If every track team member worked as hard and stayed as focused as James, we would be the state champions.' ... If every student tried as hard and worked so purposefully as you do, there would be no dropouts or scholastic problems."
___That letter made a profound difference to Harris. "It made me happy, because I felt I would never get a letter from a coach," he said. "That's awesome. It makes me keep on trying--if I keep on working and working at what I'm good at, I'll be on the right track."
___The right track for Harris also includes a high academic standard, Weaver said. And when he's not at school or hanging out with friends, he's at First Baptist Church, where he is active in the youth program.
___"God gave me a gift to run--he just hit me with it," Harris said. "But the youth group encourages me a bunch, and they help me out with what to do."
___The right track also consists of being a role model for other residents of the Lubbock campus. "Now, when the younger kids may be acting out, he walks in the room, and they do what they're supposed to be doing," said Buckner clinical therapist Brittany Weaver.
___Ahead on the track, Harris envisions finishing college and becoming a basketball and track coach. He's says he will continue to live by the promise of Colossians 3:23, stated in his words: "Do whatever you do, and God will bless it."
___"In my life, I got this far by God blessing me," he said. "That has pushed me very hard and very far."
___
Get printer-friendly version of this story
Send this story to a friend
News of religion, faith, missions, Bible study and Christian ministry among Texas Baptist churches, in the BGCT, the Southern Baptist Convention ( SBC ) and around the world.
Contents/ Masthead / Why We're Here / Links / Archive / E-mail us/ SUBSCRIBE!/ Signup for FirstLook
