By: Ali Elizabeth Turner
You read it right; famed NFL quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow’s mom Pam is going to be here in Athens on Saturday, August 12. Why? She is here to help the WRC celebrate its 30 years of saving lives by helping women to choose life, and to make sure the WRC can continue to do so for the next 30 years.
The entire Tebow family is known for their faith, closeness, and transparency, and in particular Tim (who is known as “Timmy” in his family) and Pam who have been on the national stage for several years for a variety of reasons. Tim was the first homeschooled student to win the Heisman and did so when he was a sophomore and Florida Gator. He was the first round draft pick for the Broncos, had a stellar football career in college as well as pro, is now playing minor league baseball, and has taken serious heat for his purity. Tim has been a sportscaster, and in particular has a heart for disabled and terminally ill children. He is recognized for his charitable work and being what I call “the real deal,” the kind of guy who knows he’s imperfect, forgiven, blessed, and just a regular Joe.
Pam and Tim inadvertently created feminist furor when he appeared to tackle her in a light-hearted “choose life” advertisement sponsored by Focus On The Family during the 2010 Super Bowl. Although Tim lost all of his sponsors, pollster George Barna has determined that over 5 million viewers changed their views on abortion as a result of the ad. However, did you know that if it had not been for his mom’s faith and passion to choose life over self, there would have been no Timmy?
The family was in the mission field in the Philippines, and Pam became gravely ill while pregnant. The doctors told her that she needed to have an abortion in order to live, and she refused. Pam was told that Tim was like a “tumor,” and while it’s hard to imagine anything much more insulting or less supportive to say to a patient, the family to this day turned it around and teasingly calls him “Timmy the Tumor.” For her part, what Pam says is, “Well, we chose to trust God. At the time, it didn’t seem like a courageous choice. It was the only thing that we knew to do, and we wanted to trust God with that little boy we had prayed for.” The result was a young man who will no doubt be a household name for decades to come long after he is not able to make a living through sports, either on or off the field.
The Tebows have had a specific effect on more than one Athenian. I know of one business which has been an Athens Now client for many years whose owner received the same abortion recommendation as did Pam for the same medical condition. Thankfully, that couple chose life and have been blessed with a precious baby girl. Joe Carlucci, owner of Joe’s World Famous Pizzeria and member of Lindsay Lane Baptist Church was fascinated with Tim Tebow for years and watched Tim’s life closely. He even went so far as to make a pizza with a picture of Tim on it, which became a local phenomenon on social media. Joe will be the first to tell you that at the time he made his Tebow pizza, he was not a born-again believer; it was Tim Tebow’s life, example and testimony that were powerfully used in Joe’s life to cause him to give his life to the Lord. “That guy gets hit every day, whether it’s by the media or other players, and he keeps going, and keeps giving,” Joe said. If Joe ever gets a chance to meet Tim face to face, he is planning on telling him, “God used you to get me saved.”
The Women’s Resource Center hopes you will come for an evening of inspiration, fellowship, and delicious food, and that you will help them continue to protect the lives of women and their pre-born babies for many years to come.
By: Ali Elizabeth Turner
