Mother’s battle with cancer strengthens Wall’s faith, belief in prayer

July, 2007
 By Robert Wilson

Allie Wall has deflected thousands of hard shots during her soccer career as goal keeper for Madison-Ridgeland Academy and several club and select teams in the Metro Jackson area.

But none of the shots from her opponents put as much fear into her as when Allie found out almost four years ago that her mother, Sandra Wall, had been diagnosed with breast cancer.

“It was the scariest part of my life,” said Allie, right, in a photo taken by Victories photo editor Bob Smith. “I really struggled through it. I lived in fear about every day. I had to pray to get through it. God helped show me that you can get through anything with Him.

“Sometimes I would question why this was happening. I really grew through my prayer. I saw the power of prayer through that trial. I also saw the power of friendships. I’ve never seen our friends at church (Ridgecrest Baptist in Madison) and school (MRA), at my mom’s business (BellSouth) and at my dad’s business (Anderson Chemical), come together like that. We had total support. It was amazing to see how God helped us. God had a plan to give us good friends and my mom’s friends were there for her all the time.”

Sandra battled through seven surgeries, six months of chemotherapy and three months of radiation. She has had good reports on every checkup since that difficult year.

“I was so afraid,” Sandra said. “I knew I needed to be a strong front and an example and didn’t want to bring shame to Christ by not trusting Him. I had to keep my faith and belief that He was in control. I remember Bro. Phil (Walker, Ridgecrest’s pastor) praying with me and laying his hand on my arm. It seemed like peace just traveled from the tip of my toes to the rest of my body. I never panicked from then on.”

“My mom has great strength,” Allie said. “I remember she would get up and have her Bible studies no matter how tired she would be. Sometimes she would wake up scared and she would go get her Bible and turn to the right verse she would need at the time. She showed how God can get someone through a circumstance.”

“Because my mom had died of cancer four years earlier, both of our girls (Allie and her older sister, Amy) thought that a cancer diagnosis was a death sentence,” Sandra said. “So both of them were understandably scared. And that’s why it was so amazing to watch God take that fear away and replace it with peace. On my first day home after the surgery, my devotion was on Psalm 27:1, which reads: ‘The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life –of whom shall I be afraid?’ Throughout the year, God would point me to scriptures like this that affirmed His presence. I think sharing these verses with Allie helped her, and I know that all the friends who prayed for us encouraged her. Our church family at Ridgecrest was an incredible example to Allie and Amy of how Christians help each other through difficult times.

“Because of the prayers of so many of our wonderful friends, many who we had met through Allie’s years of playing soccer, I watched Allie’s faith grow as she saw that even though we can’t control what happens to us, we have a Savior who can. And it’s much easier to learn to trust Him than to try to handle everything by ourselves.”

Allie, a senior at MRA, became a Christian when she was eight years old and was baptized at Alta Woods Baptist Church in South Jackson. Allie moved her membership to Ridgecrest about a year later.

“I grew up in a very strong Christian family,” Allie said. “My mom and dad (Mike) and my grandparents have had a very big influence on me. I remember going to church feeling the need and knowing I was lacking something. I needed God in my life. My mom explained everything to me when I was eight. I remember saying that saving prayer that is available to everyone between the kitchen and dining room.

“My parents live their lives the right way. They have always been encouraging. If I wasn’t playing well at a certain time they were there to uplift me. They reminded me it’s just a game. It’s good to be involved in sports, but always keep God first.”

Allie’s favorite verse is Jeremiah 3:2, which says, “For I know the plans for you, says the Lord, to give you a future and a hope.”

Allie started playing soccer when she was four years old at the Northeast Jackson Soccer Organization (now the Jackson Futbol Club) and her dad, Mike, was her first coach. She played in the recreation league until she was 12. After playing one year of Division II, Allie played one year of select soccer with the Madison-Ridgeland United Soccer Club (now Mississippi United). She switched to the Jackson Futbol Club and has been coached by Kevin Johns for the past four years.

“Allie took a likeness to sports and likes to compete,” Mike said. “She was eager to throw and catch when she was young. Allie would dominate on the playground with the boys in kindergarten. She likes to talk sports and we watch football and baseball together. We spent a lot of time on the road together going to soccer tournaments and taking her to practices.”

Allie has played goal keeper ever since then MRA coach Dennis Morgan put her in the goal when she was a sixth-grader.

“I love playing goal keeper. It’s a rush,” Allie said. “The game could be in your hands. You are different from everyone on the field. You can use your hands and no one else can. You can wear whatever you want. I like being like that. It relates back to Christianity. You are different than the world.”

“The first word I think about when I think of Allie is courage,” said Morgan, who coached Allie for five years in club and school soccer. “She had courage in the field because she wasn’t afraid while playing a dangerous position. She has courage in her life because she lives a Christian life in a world that doesn’t always accept it. She had courage with her mother’s sickness because she had great strength while she faced it. I admire Allie Wall a lot.”

Allie, right in a photo taken by Victories photo editor Bob Smith, was such as good goal keeper she made the Mississippi Private School Association All-Conference team and played in the MPSA All-Star Game this fall. She helped MRA to one of its best seasons in school history this fall as a senior. MRA lost to eventual champion Jackson Prep in overtime in the semifinals.

“I have coached Allie for four years and taught her for two years and she is even keel all the time,” MRA soccer coach and history teacher Josh Montgomery said. “She is committed to her church, school and sport. Allie wears her faith on her sleeve and I admire her for that.”

Allie and her sister, Amy, are close.  In fact, they are planning about rooming together at Mississippi College next year. Amy is a sophomore at MC this year.

“Amy is a good role model,” Allie said. “She has everything straight in her life. Amy has never gotten into trouble. She has great friends who uplift her. Amy helps me with my spiritual life.”

“As an older sister, I just help her understand the meanings behind certain scriptures and we keep each other accountable in our actions,” Amy said. “I remind her of certain passages whenever we’re going through a tough spot in our lives. I try to live a life that’s an example of what a big sister ought to be.

“Going through mom’s cancer, I think we all realized what small parts we play in this life and that we have to spend every moment of it to the glory of God. As a family, we all came together to fight it. Allie especially grew up into this beautiful picture of what God can mold and shape through the ‘fire.’ She had to grow up and face reality, and she did without knowing it.”

Allie is a heart for special kids. She is involved in STARs (Special Teens and Adults at Ridgecrest), a program where volunteers interact with children 15 years old and above with special needs. Allie is in a photo, taken by Victories photo editor Bob Smith, along with, from clockwise, Mary Lynch, Logan Chew and Clint Wall, no relation to Allie.

“These kids are precious,” Allie said. “They are children of God like everyone else and they need to be loved and played with. They need a friend. Obviously, their life is pretty hard, but they have love and are so gentle and kind. I have really grown being around them. I feel that I am doing something good in life. This is what God is calling me to do. These kids understand God’s love. I talk to them about Christianity.”

“Allie is a natural. She took to it like a duck to water,” said Melanie McKenzie, the director of the STARs program. “Allie is our most consistent volunteer. She is patient and accepts them as they are. Allie plays basketball and colors with them.”

“My favorite things about Allie are her faithfulness and dedication,” Amy said. “This applies to everything in her life: her faith, family, school work, soccer and helping others especially. She has a very giving heart that is open to every hurting soul or to the special needs kids she works with. She’s always wanting to be active in something to help others.”

“I’ve been blessed to see His love and compassion in Allie’s eyes as she serves others,” Sandra said. “Whether it was at the homeless shelter or nursing home in New Orleans, or having fun with STARs at Ridgecrest, I’ve seen Christ loving others through Allie. All her life, we have focused on Psalm 139 as an anchor for her. It says that even before she was born, God knew her and made her perfectly for the plan He had for her life.”

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