This morning we shared a story of how a young man, from even in the womb, was saved by his father and mother.
She went into a coma and was treated with strong antibiotics before they discovered she was pregnant. Doctors urged her to abort the baby for her own safety, telling her the medicines had caused irreversible damage to her baby. She refused the abortion and cited her Christian faith as the reason for her hope that her son would be born without the devastating disabilities physicians predicted.
While pregnant, Pam nearly lost their baby four times, but still refused to consider abortion. She recalled making a pledge to God with her husband: If you will give us a son, we’ll name him Timothy and we’ll make him a preacher.
Pam ultimately spent the last two months of her pregnancy in bed and eventually gave birth to a healthy baby boy August 14, 1987. Pam’s youngest son is indeed a preacher. He preaches in prisons, makes hospital visits, and serves with his father’s ministry in the Philippines. He also plays football. His name is Tim Tebow
Over the past few years we have watched this young man openly demonstrate his love for others and not only his love but honour for God and the Savior he serves. From his early years he was taught that he was here on earth for a purpose and to be an example for others.
How did this young man become who he is today?
First let me introduce his mom and dad, Pamela Elaine Tebow and Robert Ramsey Tebow II.
When Tim was born in Makati City in the Philippines they were serving as Baptist missionaries at the time. His mother, Pamela Elaine is the daughter of a U.S. Army colonel, and his father, Robert Ramsey Tebow II, is a pastor.
One day Bob, Tim’s dad, heard of a baby who was being thrown away. He could not just stand back and let this happen so he started an orphanage. Tim learned from his dad to stand up for the poor and the vulnerable, the widows and the orphans. Not because it was an easy thing to do, but because it was the right thing to do. Time shares, “My dad had three priorities in life, Jesus, his family and helping others.”
Bob and his wife, Pam, have been helping others even before their son was born. The couple moved to the Philippines in 1985 where they served as Baptist missionaries and built a ministry. The Bob Tebow Evangelistic Association has been serving in the Philippines since then, focusing on evangelism, church planting, pastor training, running an orphanage, and training the next generation of evangelists. The family moved back to the United States in the early ’90s, but Bob continues to make regular trips to the Philippines and other Southeast Asian countries where he is involved in missionary work.
Some may think Pamela Tebow is kind of a superwoman. She is a wife, mother, a Baptist missionary, pro-life speaker and author. Pamela, the daughter of an army colonel, is a woman of strong faith.
Pamela Tebow was born Pamela Pemberton November 24, 1949 in San Francisco; C.A. She met her husband, Robert Ramsey Tebow II, at the University of Florida. They tied the knot on June 12, 1971. She graduated with honors from the College of Journalism and Communications at UF.
The youngest of five . . .
Tim Tebow is the youngest of five children. He and his siblings were all homeschooled by their mother, who worked to instill the family’s Christian beliefs along the way. Pam and Bob’s other children are: daughters Christy and Katie and sons; Robby and Peter.
Falling into the world of professional sports . . .
In 1996, legislation was passed in Florida allowing homeschooled students to compete in local high school sporting events. The law specifies that homeschooled students may participate on the team of the local school in the school district in which they live. The Tebows lived in Jacksonville, Florida, and Tim played linebacker and tight end at the local Trinity Christian Academy for one season.
In 2003, he moved into an apartment in nearby St. Johns County, making him eligible to play for the struggling football program at Allen D. Nease High School where he could play quarterback. His performance led to a minor controversy regarding the fact that, although home-schooled, he had his choice of school for which to play.”
Professional football, baseball . . . and author!
He is a two-time national champion, first round NFL draft pick, and Heisman trophy winner. Tim Tebow is currently signed to play professional baseball with the New York Mets and is a college football analyst for the SEC Network.
Prior to joining the SEC Network, Tebow played three years in the NFL for the Denver Broncos, New York Jets and New England Patriots. In 2011, Tebow was the first quarterback featured in ESPN’s “Year of the Quarterback” series. He later released “Through My Eyes”, which was named the #1 sports book of 2011 and the bestselling religion book of 2011.
Tim released a new book last October, “Shaken: Discovering Your True Identity in the Midst of Life’s Storms” (WaterBrook). Tebow also contributes to a variety of ESPN platforms including SportsCenter, ESPN Radio, and the network’s Heisman Trophy coverage. He is active in a variety of philanthropic activities through his Tim Tebow Foundation.
Never too busy . . .
Tebow said that although his father was busy, he has always been his biggest supporter and throughout his football career, he would fly all the way from the Philippines just to watch him play, then turn around and fly right back to the mission field. “Other people might skip a week, but not my dad. He has always been there for his entire family,”
Tim Tebow Foundation
In 2010, his vision took shape in the Tim Tebow Foundation. The Tim Tebow Foundation exists to bring Faith, Hope and Love to those needing a brighter day in their darkest hour of need. The foundation fulfills this mission every day by making dreams come true for children with life-threatening illnesses, building Timmy’s Playrooms in children’s hospitals, providing life-changing surgeries to children of the Philippines through the Tebow CURE Hospital, sponsoring Night to Shine, a nationwide prom for people with special needs, providing care for orphans in four countries and adoption aid grants for families who choose to adopt an international child with special needs.
Living with purpose . . .
Ralph Waldo Emerson stated, “The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.” “The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.”
As a christian we have an added dimension to our purpose and that is to please and honour God. In other words, our purpose is to praise God, worship him, to proclaim his greatness, and to accomplish his will.
Have a GREAT day . . . someday it will be HISTORY!
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