NFL star who lost wife and child opens up about faith: 'A miracle I'm not in a straitjacket'
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"Fox and Friends" co-host Ainsley Earhardt sat down with former NFL defensive tackle and three-time Pro Bowl player Tommie Harris in a new episode of Fox Nation's "Ainsley's Bible Study."
Harris opened up about the unimaginable tragedies that upended his life and reinforced his faith in God.
"I look at a miracle every day when I look in the mirror and see that I'm not in a straitjacket or [have] lost my mind for what I've been through," he said. "I'm a walking testimony. God moves every day through me, encourages me, inspires me to help someone else beyond myself."
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Ainsley asked Harris about the tragic death of his young wife.
"I know your wife was 29 years old. You had only been married for 41 days when she died. Tell me that story. And what happened to your child?" she asked.
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"My wife was going in to have a breast reduction surgery. We [were] married for 41 days," Harris recalled. "I was on a plane... never knowing that when we land, I would get a phone call that said my wife stopped breathing on the table and I needed to hurry up and get to Oklahoma."
"I end up flying Oklahoma. My wife was dead when I got there," he said. Harris said he watched his new bride languish on life support for three days before he made the decision to let her go.
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"I had to pull a cord at 28 [years old], having millions of dollars, and nothing could help me at that moment. I lost all purpose for finances, for everything," he said. "That was the biggest time I believe my faith was tested, and I remember pulling the cord and I told God to let His will be done in my life."
The death of Harris' wife would not be the first tragic misfortune to test him.
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"I waited four years later to get back into a relationship and me and another woman, we end up having a kid. And four months later, we walked in the room and she [had] passed away of SIDS, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome," Harris told Ainsley.
"I believe that God is speaking to me to show people how valuable life is and at any moment the game can change," he said. "So are you playing your hardest at every moment?"
"I think that my breath right now is being used to teach that suddenly [...] things can change. And with the faith in God, you know that He'll never put more than you can bear," Harris added.
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Harris also told Ainsley how his experiences and faith have encouraged him to do more and reach out to others in need.
"I remember walking in the airport after I lost my wife, and I was about 300 pounds and I was just crying, walking through the airport," Harris recalled. "And I wanted someone to hold me, hug me or to notice me. But I realized at that moment that everyone was on their own schedules and nothing stops for anyone."
"So now, because of what I've [been] through, when I go to the airport, my head is on a swivel. I'm looking for the slumped-over shoulders. I'm looking for the guy that may not look approachable, but I know he needs a hug. So I've learned from that situation to take it and help serve someone else," he added.
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To watch all of Ainsley's powerful conversation with Tommie Harris, and to hear his rendition of the gospel song "I won't complain," go to Fox Nation and sign up today.
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