By now, everyone is probably familiar with the name Damar Hamlin. Playing for the Buffalo Bills on Monday Night Football, Hamlin made a fairly routine tackle on Tee Higgins of the Cincinnati Bengals. With approximately 6 minutes left in the first quarter, Hamlin stood up, adjusted his helmet, and then collapsed on the field. Speculation is that he suffered commotio cardis, a rare event caused by a blow to the chest wall. Hamlin essentially died on the field, suffering cardiac arrest. He was revived on the field and is being treated at UC Medical Center, a level 1 trauma unit. I share this story now because there are at least three things we have seen after this tragedy: generosity, prayer, and love and compassion.

Hamlin had established a charitable fund to raise money for toys and clothing for a daycare run by his mother. He had a goal of raising $2,500. As of Wednesday, the fund had raised nearly $7 million. We see that there are many people who want to give generously when they see a need.

While the scene on Monday night unfolded, many on TV and social media were saying ‘our thoughts and prayers are with Damar.’ On NFL Live, broadcast on national television, on Tuesday, former NFL quarterback Dan Orlovsky paused and offered a prayer for Damar. It’s a shame that it took a tragedy like this to move someone in the public eye to pray publicly but I applaud Orlovsky for having the faith and courage to do so. In times of tragedy our first option should always be to pray fervently.

Ironically, in a 2021 profile on Hamlin he said, “the way I grew up teaches you to cherish everybody in your life because you never know who you’ll lose. You could lose anybody. Everybody I talk to, I say, ‘I love you.’” Events like this remind us how precious life is and how quickly it can end. From the emotion shown by teammates and opponents on Monday night, to the continued compassion shown by so many, we have seen an outpouring of love for this young man. We are reminded how me must love everyone, always.

Through great tragedy, we fortunately see how great people can be. Through the events of this week we, hopefully, are reminded that we should give generously, pray fervently, love abundantly, and live every day as if it may be our last.