by Bailey Jarnagin
CLEVELAND, Ga. (TMNews)- Senior Biology major Myrrhande [Rhande] Haskett, from Chickamauga, Ga., didn’t think she’d play collegiate basketball due to an injury she suffered in high school; but God opened the door at Truett-McConnell where she’s enhanced her skills on the court and grown in her walk with God.
Truett-McConnell chose me
“I knew I wanted to play college basketball,” Haskett recalled. “I started going to basketball camps and people started calling me from those camps. One day, a Truett-McConnell coach contacted me.”
Due to the small, intimate campus, Haskett pushed Truett-McConnell to the back of her mind.
With dreams of playing collegiate basketball, Haskett’s spirit was crushed when she experienced an injury during her senior season which threatened her future hopes. “I tore my ACL,” Haskett said. “Everyone stopped contacting me. No one wanted me.”
Due to the lack of interest from other coaches, when Haskett reestablished contact with Truett-McConnell, her expectations were low. “Do you still want me?” she inquired. “I know people don’t want to invest in something they can’t use,” she shared. To Haskett’s surprise, the Truett-McConnell coach responded adamantly and in her favor: “I do still want you.”
“I had to sit out for half the season,” Haskett said in regards to her first year as a Lady Bear, “but [my coach] still invested in me and kept me going.”
Redirection
Haskett’s basketball game wasn’t the only thing that changed and improved when she came to Truett-McConnell. The team’s assistant coach, Meagan Price, impacted Haskett’s life significantly. “I grew up in church and I was baptized when I was five,” Haskett shared. “I always went to church. It wasn’t even a big deal in my mind.”.
Christianity became a series of monotonous actions in Haskett’s life instead of a serious relationship with the Creator. “When I got to Truett, we had chapel every Thursday and I thought, ‘this is different.’”
On October 18, 2012, Haskett’s life changed forever. During a regular chapel service, she shared: “I was crying all through chapel and after, I was thinking maybe I needed to do something further. Maybe God was pushing me to do something different.”
Noticing Haskett’s encounter with God, Price pulled her aside and initiated a conversation which led Haskett to re-dedicate her life to Christ.
Price remains involved in helping Haskett grow spiritually through Bible study. “Right now we’re doing this thing in Psalms,” Haskett said. “In Psalm 119, we do eight verses a day and see which one stands out the most…before I read them, I pray and ask God to point one out for me.” Haskett has yet to be disappointed; she finds God to be faithful in reminding her of His promises at just the right time.
Not my plans, but God’s plans
During the summer of 2013, Haskett attended a mission trip to Costa Rica with the TMC’s women’s basketball team which God used to instill within her the desire to serve more overseas. “I prayed about it and physical therapy started coming to my head. I like the atmosphere: helping people get better and seeing the rewards of people at their lowest point get higher.”
“I know I want to go overseas and help people out there,” Haskett continued. “I don’t know if it’s for basketball or for physical therapy, but there’s just an urge to go.”
Although Haskett doesn’t know where her life will take her after completing her degree at Truett-McConnell, she finds comfort in the words of Ecclesiastes 3:1: “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the Heavens.”
Haskett is confident God will guide her and direct her on the path which she should go. “Everything works out,” Haskett proclaimed, “but not your plans. God’s plans.”
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Bailey is a senior English major and a freelance writer for the college.
Photo/Adam Roark
Front page photo/TMC Bears
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