A different kind of love

ESPN has an article up on 70s tennis star Roscoe Tanner. I'd never heard of him, to be honest, (my first awareness of tennis started with Ivan Lendl) and I happened on the article for reasons that had nothing to do with tennis or divorce, but this article gives a good look at the devastation that can occur when families (not just marriages) fall apart. According to the article, Tanner has become a Christian; let's pray that his commitment to Christ will lead to real reconciliation and healing between Tanner and his children.

In an interview from her home in Aliso Viejo, Calif., an Orange County suburb, Roscoe Tanner's daughter said, "He's a charmer who will say whatever he needs to get what he wants. I don't care to hear anything he has to say."

Tamara grew up exceptionally close to her father. He attended her soccer games and tennis matches and helped sharpen her skills in practice. But lately, Tamara, now 20, finds herself wondering if those things ever happened.

"All of a sudden one day, he's gone," she said. "And he never came back. The things he's caused our family to go through -- it puts doubts in my mind about how real it was. How could he really love me and not come home?

"He pretty much erased us from his life. I didn't think that was humanly possible."