This Brought Tears to my Eyes!

I'm a HUGE Spurs fan, and would never want to show supports for a team that my Spurs are playing, but I just HAD to share this!
I can't help but cry, I just cant.
Read this story and you will cry your eyes out like I did!

Chris Paul will honor a boy whose wish to see the Hornets went unfulfilled

Cancer victim tribute afoot

Thursday, May 08, 2008

By Katy Reckdahl Staff writer

Before tonight's playoff game, New Orleans Hornets superstar point guard Chris Paul will write the name "Brian" on his shoes, paying tribute to an 8-year-old fan who died Monday night before he could meet his basketball hero.

Brian, who had cancer, wore his Chris Paul jersey nonstop, said Michael McMyne, president of A Child's Wish of Greater New Orleans, an all-volunteer nonprofit that helps fulfill the wishes of about 100 critically ill Louisiana children each year. McMyne asked that Brian's last name not be used to respect the privacy of the grieving family.

Brian's wish was simple: He wanted to go to a Hornets game.

So McMyne got him tickets to Monday night's playoff game against the San Antonio Spurs.

But at the last minute, a friend of Brian's family called to cancel. The boy had been rushed to the hospital with a high fever, she said. He died hours later.

In his final weeks, Brian told his family that he knew he was going to heaven and that he wanted to meet Jesus wearing his Chris Paul jersey.

Someone within the Hornets organization sent around an e-mail telling Brian's story. It caught the eye of Paul and Hornets owner George Shinn. Both cried.

"It was very touching to me. Tears welled up in my eyes," said Shinn, who sent flowers and a letter to the family and offered to help with funeral costs. The family, overwhelmed with grief, was touched by his kindness but declined. The location and time of the funeral also are private.

Shinn and his wife hoped to attend the funeral with Paul and his parents. But the team will be on road at the time, so that isn't possible, Shinn said. The family plans to bury Brian in his favorite jersey, as he requested.

Footwear tributes aren't new, Shinn said. But usually the name is directly connected to the player. His mother. A family member. A favorite coach. "The NBA allows you to do that, to honor that person," Shinn said.

Shinn has never before seen a player write a fan's name on his footwear, "particularly a fan that the player hadn't even met," he said.

The tribute is "above and beyond imagination," McMyne said. "This genuinely heartfelt response by Chris Paul made this delicate family feel fortunate as they grieve their angel."

What have I done to deserve all the blessings in my life?? I have SO much, and yet I take it for granted and act like I don't have "enough"! Why do I FAIL to appreciate all the blessings in my life! The following is all I can think about when I read this:

I live my day to day as if I have ALL the time in the world for things that are important! I fail to see the big picture. I think I am invincible, when really, it could all be taken AWAY from me any day. Lord, teach me to take nothing for granted. Teach me to live my life for you,not for myself. Teach me to come to you as a child, helpless,weak,and hopeless without you.