ONE FAMILY'S FAITH

I've always held a begrudging respect for John Olerud despite his playing for teams I always despised: the Blue Jays, Mets and Yankees (shudder). A few weeks ago I turned on the Red Sox and there he was at first base...I was stunned. "Just like the Sox," I thought to myself. "Yet another signing of a formerly great player past his prime." But after reading this, I am an Olerud fan for a very different reason, but more than that, I'm a fan of his daughter, Jordan.

He's thinking about the lessons he's learned raising Jordan, how much he's learned about suffering, his own and others'. He thinks back to the horrible moment on the doctor's table with the IV, and what he wanted to say to his daughter.

I'd love to tell you why we need to get these antibiotics in you, but even if I could explain it to you, you wouldn't understand. You've just got to trust me.

''Sometimes with our suffering, you look to God and say, 'God, this does not make any sense,' " Olerud said. ''I'm getting hammered here, and you could change it. I'm sure he's looking at us saying, I can't tell you why I'm doing this. It is in your best interest, you just have to trust me.

''It's in His control, and He's going to be able to work this for good somehow. You keep going, you keep working at it, you keep loving her and have faith that it's going to work, and this is all part of His plan, and that we're going to be able to help out other people."