It was 1986 and the California Angels were one strike away from clinching their first World Series berth when ace relief pitcher, Donnie Moore, gave up a ninth-inning home run to the Boston Red Sox's Dave Henderson. Boston went on the win that game and the next two games, denying the Angels the American League Championship Series crown and an appearance in the World Series.

The fans never let Moore forget about tossing that home run pitch. He spent the next several years fighting depression until finally taking his own life in 1989.

We'll never know the exact extent of the damage inflicted on him by angry and disappointed Angel's fans, who continued to boo him in subsequent appearances. But I can't help but wonder: if instead of berating their star closer they had encouraged him, could his tragic suicide have been averted?

I was recently reminded of the power of encouragement from an incident that occurred in the life of my 13-year old son, John. He is a freshman and he was looking forward to playing junior varsity soccer this year for his high school. But the coach decided in July to schedule mandatory practice sessions for all JV and varsity soccer players during the last two weeks of summer vacation.

Initially John was excited about taking part in the daily, six-hour, pre-season soccer clinic. Then we all sat down together as a family and took a look at the calendar.

The first week interfered with a youth retreat that John was planning to take part in with his friends from church. The second week fell during the same time as our planned vacation to the Pocono Mountains.

We left it up to our son to decide what he wanted to do the first week. The second week was simply non-negotiable -- we were all going on vacation together as a family.

John initially decided to attend the first week of soccer camp. But the more he thought about it, the more he felt convicted about taking part in the youth retreat instead.

The coach wasn't happy about it and had told the varsity players that for every practice session missed, it would mean one game they'd be forced to watch from the bench.

With what my son thought would be the equivalent of a 10-game suspension looming, he finally told the coach he wasn't playing soccer this year and he quit the team.

I'll admit, I was disappointed.

I have watched him play soccer through middle school. It is the one sport at which he excels. But I was also proud of him for his willingness to forfeit the entire season for something that could have a spiritual impact on his life.

School started and the JV soccer team was a player or two short. John didn't care. By now he simply did not want to play soccer, period.

But then, one by one, his friends started coming up to him. They explained that they needed him and that if he didn't play, they would not have enough players to field a team. His coach spoke to him. There were still several weeks of practice before the season started. And the 10-game suspension rule didn't apply to JV players after all.

The following week, when I picked him up around 6:00 P.M. after his first practice, I asked him how he felt. "I love it, dad," he said. "I'm glad I'm playing soccer."

Several weeks later he scored his first goal of the season.

Words are powerful. They can heal and they can kill -- literally.

James, the author of the New Testament book that bears his name wrote, "The tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature… No man can tame the tongue."

Which brings us back to the Anaheim Angels and Donnie Moore. It's a shame he wasn't around to watch his old team play this year for the ALCS crown.

"Real Answers™" furnished courtesy of The Amy Foundation Internet Syndicate. To contact the author or The Amy Foundation, write or E-mail to: P. O. Box 16091, Lansing, MI 48901-6091; amyfoundtn@aol.com. Visit our website at www.amyfound.org.