Softball was a way of life for Mackenzie Cotton. She began playing community ball at the age of four.
At the age of eight, she joined travel softball with the Birmingham Thunderbolts Premier 2028. She also played school ball. In fact, softball became an everyday thing for Cotton.
But her whole life changed in April 2024 when she suffered a serious injury while playing school ball at Corner Middle School.
"In April of 2024, I tore my ACL, and I had surgery like a week after," Cotton told Gardendale First Baptist Church in a testimony video.
Being on the bench was not where Cotton wanted to be. As she watched her team play on without her and win, she began to feel left out.
Eventually, Cotton was able to get back on the field, but the excitement didn't last long. Cotton tore her ACL and meniscus in July 2025 while playing at the Atlanta Legacy Showcase.
She felt her body had let her down, and the injury took a toll on her spirit.
"I kept asking why," Cotton said with tears in her eyes. "Like, why me? The worst part was just having to watch my team play without me. That was one of the lowest parts of the whole thing was watching them win without me. That alone was one of the worst parts."
Although she was weakened both externally and internally, her strength in God began to shine through.
"I just had to trust in the Lord – and I'm still going through it, I'm not over it yet – but I just have to put my trust in Him and not ask why," Cotton said. "I have to just believe that He knows what's the best for me."
While listening to her father give a devotion to her sister's team, Cotton heard something that inspired her.
"It says, 'if you're going down a path I didn't lead you to, then I will not provide, but if you're going down a path that I did lead you to, I will provide," Cotton remembered. "That's what's really stuck with me. Maybe that's not the path He wanted me to go on, I feel like he's giving me rest because softball was all the time for me."
Cotton is recovering from her second surgery and hopes to return to the diamond this upcoming softball season as a sophomore at Corner High School.
In the meantime, her parents, Brad and Jennifer Cotton, told 1819 News they are very proud of her. They hope her story inspires more people to trust in God.
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