O God, my heart is fixed; I will sing and give praise, even with my glory.

Psalm 108:1, KJV

His name was Ben and though he had enjoyed a certain amount of success before his accident, it was nothing compared to what was to follow after. Ben's father committed suicide when he was 12 years old. He shot himself in the chest and lived just long enough to tell his family that he was sorry and wished he hadn't done it. But it was too late.

Ben was a small boy and it seemed that he had to fight for everything he had. His family needed the money so he went out and sold newspapers. It was a competitive field and the boys fought for the best locations. The better the location, the more money you could make and Ben's mother needed that money. So he learned to fight. Later he found that golf caddies could make 65 cents an hour! He didn't know anything about golf, but he walked a long way to get the job. What he found was another fierce hierarchy in which he fought for just the opportunity to carry clubs for some rich man. Eventually the other boys learned that Ben would not give up, and a new career was born.

After about a year, Ben bought his own clubs and began to practice. He eventually got good enough to play and he spent his hard earned money on entry fees into tournaments, which he gradually began to place high enough to win some prize money. Now Ben finally had a job in which he did not have to fight just to work. He was able to get married to a good woman who would make all of the difference in his life. Ben was shy and absolutely focused on the game, but the crowds and reporters alike mistook his reservation to mean that he didn't much like or appreciate them. So Ben Hogan, though now one of the best golfers in the entire world, just wasn't that popular. That was okay with him, or so he thought, because he had his wife Valerie and his golf.

He was driving with Valerie one foggy day at the height of his success. As he rounded a turn he came upon a bus that was trying to pass another vehicle. Ben threw himself across his wife to protect her, and she came out relatively unscathed. Ben, on the other hand, had a crushed pelvis, broken ribs, and a broken ankle. He would be lucky to ever walk again and his career, so everyone thought, was over.

But they didn't know Ben and a year later he was not only walking, but he was actually trying to play golf again. At his first tournament, the crowd went wild at his approach to the first tee. To their amazement, Ben Hogan, the ice man who cared nothing for no one, lit up with the warmest and most genuine smile they had ever seen. He went on to become one of the best golfers in history, and retired with a newfound love for others that was eagerly returned by fans and reporters alike.

He was later asked in an interview what the change was. He said that a few weeks after his accident, letters started arriving from strangers all over the country. The letters told him that they were praying for him, that they had in fact been praying for his life every since they heard the news. The stream of letters turned from a trickle into a flood of thousands of letters from concerned fans all over the world. The letters were different of course, but all had a common theme: They were praying for him and his wife Valerie.

And Ben, as best as he knew how, turned his life over to God and was determined to repay the kindness of those who had poured out their concern and love for him. And his heart which had previously been fixed on his own success and glory, now became fixed upon the Lord and his fellow man. When Ben Hogan finally put his golf clubs down he achieved a record for victories that is still the fourth on the all time list. But, more impressive than that, his glory now included God and his fellow man. 

How about you?