I come from humble beginnings, and my parents did everything they could to provide me with every opportunity to succeed. Neither of my parents would let my sister or me get away with not saying please or thank you. We would attend church, say grace before dinner, prayers before bed; God was in my life, but I didn’t fully know him.
I grew up active. Participated in sports, played games in the yard, and had sleepovers with my friends. I was a good student with decent grades. I made the high honour roll and even earned the prized possession of a bumper sticker proclaiming this.
My athletic career was also blessed. I was the leading running back my freshman year, and by my junior year I was a star on the football team. As my popularity around campus grew, the student body voted me to the homecoming court all four years of high school.
Amid what I imagine was a life that many kids would dream of, my struggles began. I look back and think that, perhaps, if I had known God was to thank for all that I was blessed with, my life would have been different.
In addition to my success in football and the classroom, I fell in love for the first time. I felt like I had it all. But, in reality, I was losing touch with who I was and letting destructive things penetrate my life. I was drawn to the party scene. I felt I had an image to uphold: I was a popular kid, and the popular kids go to parties. I drank beer and tried recreational drugs. I experimented with sex and cheated on my girlfriend.
I was lost. I didn’t know who I was. Although I was presented with scholarships from schools to play football, I decided that going to a larger university was the best path for me academically. But, being honest, I wanted a larger school, not for the academics but for the parties and the women.
I was accepted to the University of Illinois, and in the summer of 2003, I began college. I entered school with the ambition of becoming a doctor. It wasn’t long before I found more fun in the social scene. I was partying with my fraternity, meeting girls, and blowing off classes to hang out at bars and parties.
My grades in college were drastically affected. I’d have a decent semester followed by a poor one. I scored well on many of the tests and quizzes, but my attendance in class was low, often missing assignments needed for higher grades.
It began to affect me, and problems were to get worse before they got better. I started fighting in bars to release my anger and discontentment.
I was aware I had problems, but my life was so empty. I had nobody to pray to. No God to believe in that could get me through this. I said I was fine and made excuses for my challenges, saying I was just having fun. But I was spiralling further. God was not even a thought anymore.
After graduating from college, I started getting my life together. It took a DUI, an arrest for fighting, and wrecking my car while under the influence; but I eventually found solid footing, and in 2012 I landed at a company I loved. This was the place that I saw myself spending the rest of my career.
I flourished as a member of the inside sales team. I thought I was going to climb the corporate ladder, and now had new aspirations to become the company’s top producing sales executive.
At this company, my mind began to shift toward God. Christianity was alive throughout the organisation. I developed relationships with people who placed God at the centre of everything they did.
The people were so incredible. They were fun, confident, made me laugh, played sports, and with the exception of faith, were like me in a lot of ways. But all this wasn’t enough get me into a church, and hence came another downfall.
I began attending church regularly. Through prayer and Scripture, I began to let God in. I started to open my heart and accepted Jesus.
I cannot say that my life has totally changed, but I now have a focus. A guiding light. An inner peace. I know that I cannot do this life on my own. Without prayer, the center of my life will begin to deviate again. I’ll lose myself. I’ve been put here on this earth by God, and I still am working to discover my purpose.
Try God
Also Read:
- Expecting the Unexpected
- The Benefits of Wisdom: Triple Advantage
- Entities in the Bible: The First Surrogate Parent
- Lessons From the Geese
- Jesus, the Living Word
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