After writing the first two installments in this series I started to think about this one. I thought about how I can write about the different ways in life that God can use different events to strengthen you. I thought about how different events in my life caused me to crumble under the weight of stress and pain. How other events in my life strengthened me by showing me the value of trying to do what I didn’t believe I could do. In some of those cases, others would also tell me that I wouldn’t be able to do this or that because of my size, appearance, etc. However, I feel that while I felt like I needed to write about a host of those events, I believe that only one truly fits here.
Football
When I was a child, I used to play youth football for the kids that were not old enough to play in high school yet. This was not touch or flag football. I was a rather small player that most would assume I should have been a running back or a receiver. But nope, I was a center and a defensive end for the most part. At times I was also a nose guard for a few years and obtained the nickname of Mad Mountain.
Well as time passed on, I went to high school and continued to play as a center and defensive end. In high school, I was well undersized for the center position. Now while many may think that I was only a second or third-string center, nope. I was either first or second string even when we had bigger guys on the lower strings. Don’t think, however, that we played small teams either. Nope, we play teams from Bakersfield and Los Angeles, California. I genuinely believe that the only reason I could play center was due to three people.
The first person was my dad. He always told me that if I put my mind to it, I would be able to. I am sure that he would have rather me be the QB or some other running back position, but I just didn’t want those positions. He told me stories about how he used to be in high school. If there was something others thought he could do, he would show them that they were wrong.
The second person that I account for the reason I was able to play this position was my Papa. He was a gentle and soft man that grow up in Mississippi, went off to war in World War II, and then came back home to become a motor grader operator. He showed me that no matter how soft and gentle others may view you, you can be tough and do jobs that are much rougher than others believe you can do.
The last person that showed me that I could play this position was King David in the Bible. He was but a small shepherd boy that not even his own family had much value in him. Yet, God placed him on a battlefield with the giant Goliath. His brothers who were there kept telling him to leave the fighting to the men. David wasn’t even a soldier at the time and was only there to deliver food to his brothers. While all the soldiers of King Saul’s army were being taunted by Goliath, David in his shepherd clothing was asking to challenge the giant. When King Saul finally said that he could go to battle, the king insisted that David should wear the king’s armor that was too big. Yet, David ended up going out to the field. The giant taunted David and called the professional soldiers cowards for letting a shepherd boy fight in their place. David found a rock on the ground, pulled his shepherd’s sling from his bag, and started to swing the sling over his head. While the giant was still talking smack to David, David released the rock that flung across the space between the two and stuck Goliath in his forehead. The force of the rock made Goliath crash down to the ground. David then runs over and pulls Goliath’s very own sword out and cuts off his head.
The story of King David taught me that anything that we do is always possible. It is possible because of God and the gifts he gives us. Regardless of our size, race, education, wealth, etc., we have the tools that we require for those tasks. So, while I was small compared to the defensive players I went against, God gave me the skills to be able to overcome the size and strength differences. I learned not to view problems and issues as bigger than I am, but that with faith in God, I can accomplish everything I set my mind to.
In this final posting in the series, I want you to take away from each post is that each event in our lives builds us. It doesn’t matter where you come from, or who your family was yesterday or a hundred years ago. The truth is that you can either allow the world to transform you into what people want you to believe in, or you can look towards the Lord and the future you create a new path for yourself. Doing this will help you see a brighter life for not just you, but also for your children. When people keep putting you into small boxes you need to break free from those people. They are trying to keep you where you are for only selfish reasons, either to keep you down with them or to make themselves feel better for where they are.
(In time I may add more to this series as events from my past may surface to me.)
