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Real Faith

Asha. A beautiful woman I met shortly after joining the NFL. She didn’t follow sports, so my status as a football player meant nothing, but we grew up in the same neighborhood. I couldn’t get her off my mind. We started to talk on the phone since we lived long distance from each other. As I found time to see Asha face to face, I saw something in her that I wanted to be around all the time: namely, a giving heart. She wanted to make life better for everyone around her. I also continued building my relationship with my daughter Leah, visiting her as often as I could—she was growing up so fast!

Back on the football field, I learned that life rarely moves in a straight line, and the pattern of my life seemed to be getting clearer and clearer: Every time things were going my way, some new challenge came out of the blue. I got benched when a veteran player returned from the injured/reserve list. I was the new guy, so I had to wait my turn. At this point in life, I didn’t understand that strength to overcome came from faith rooted in Christ—my faith was just beginning and I didn’t really know what following Jesus looked like.

Having Leah in my life made the bad stuff not that bad. I had more than football. I was grateful and did what I could to give back to my home community. As I spent time there, I also spent time with Leah and Asha. We spent our days during my off season laughing and having fun together. And giving to others.

The next season, I was back on the Bengal’s active roster full-time. We had some great games and there was some serious talk about going all the way to the Super Bowl. Again, a challenging injury popped up. I needed help just tying my shoes, and Asha came to be there for me—she was like some kind of angel. With her to help and after having been through injuries before, I was able to recover faster than expected. 

I wish that was the end of the injuries, but more setbacks followed, and Asha was there for me. Asha’s strength, and our realization that maybe things kept going wrong because we didn’t have a personal relationship with God, helped us tackle these challenges. I hadn’t purposefully turned my back on God. I’d prayed and felt God at work, but I hadn’t put God in the center of my life. We needed to get to church and get answers from God.

We went to my friend John’s church. We weren’t sure what to make of it, but we listened. We took it all in and read the Bible. We sang. I tried to let the spirit of Christ and that little church take me in. And I started praying, putting everyone and everything in God’s hands. God healed me in what was nothing short of a miracle. Asha and I decided to get baptized together and we committed ourselves to God.

Respond

Who in your life models genuine faith and trust in God? What have you learned from him or her?

What can you do to more fully experience God in your life? 

How has God blessed you because of your faith in Him?