My wife, son and I saw what has to be one of the best Thanksgiving movies in a long time.  “The Blind Side” starring Sandra Bullock (in one of her most compelling roles ever) is based upon the true story of Michael Oher, the 2009 1st draft pick of the Baltimore Ravens NFL football team.

This story is a real tear-jerker (my wife did most of the crying ) that described how a wealthy white family in Memphis, TN took in a homeless and rather large black teen with a very troubled past as one of their own. 

Michael’s life could easily have ended tragically like so many of his Memphis ghetto peers, many of whom never live to see their 30th birthday.  Yet because of the open hearts of the Touhy family (especially Leigh Anne Touhy, the mother) he was given a chance for a better life.  It wasn’t easy.  He struggled mightily in school to raise his GPA from .9 to 2.65.  And, he had to learn how to focus his considerable size & strength to realize his full potential as a lineman. As it turns out, Michael Oher’s talent as an offensive lineman was as big as he was.

None of these things “just happened”.  It took one person, Leigh Anne Touhy, to open her heart and see the possibility of a much better life for someone who had every reason to doubt it.  And from that seed of possibility sprang a mighty oak of a life and story that now affects the hearts of millions…

A true friend knows your weaknesses but shows you your strengths; feels your fears but fortifies your faith; sees your anxieties but frees your spirit; recognizes your disabilities but emphasizes your possibilities.

       William Arthur Ward

We all have unrealized possibilities and it would be great if we each had our very own Leigh Anne Touhy to believe in us and show us the way.  I suspect there are not that many Leigh Anne Touhys in the world.  So for most of us, we are going to have to be our own true friend that sees our possibilities and helps us realize them.  At least with a friend like that, you know they will never leave your side…