I hope & trust this post finds you all having a great day as a glorious Sunday morning has dawned on the Texas Gulf Coast.
So I am writing this Happy Friday on a Sunday morning. The timing is not off...it is just right! You see, this past week the Haslam family went on vacation to Destin, Florida. Friday I was fully present with my family, making new friends. Yesterday we were up early and drove the 9 hours back to our home. After a power nap I got all of my chores done - lawn mowed, truck washed, etc. Last night was more quality time with my family...and now here I am! :)
This morning I want to share a few things I came across this past week and a thought/perspective.
First I would like to tell you a little bit about Isaiah Pead. Isaiah played football at the University of Cincinnati where he was a standout running back. In 2012 he was drafted in the 2nd round of the NFL draft by the St. Louis Rams. In November of 2016 he was in a car accident that resulted in him losing a part of one of legs, ending his NFL career. He is now training to be a Special Olympian. Last weekend there was a terrific article on the ESPN app about him and his efforts to be a Special Olympian.
I would strongly encourage you to search for the article and read it, it is very inspirational. I however want to share a couple of quotes from the article and share a little bit about each.
"What do you want to be remembered for?" - Isaiah Pead
This was the rhetorical question Isaiah asked. Instead of being defined by his accident, being filled with coulda, shoulda and woulda's, he challenges himself with, "What do you want to be remembered for?" Will it be "poor Isaiah, he lost his leg, his NFL career?" or will it be something like, "Look at Isaiah, he is doing amazing things with his life." He can't change the accident, he can't change the fact that he lost a part of his leg and with it, his career as an NFL running back. The only thing Isaiah can control is what he does next. He can choose to sulk in self-pity or he can rise to the fullness of who he was created to be. That choice will determine the depth and quality of his life.
How about you and I? Aren't we EXACTLY the same?! I am sure there are things that have happened to you, just as they have to me, that weren't fair, weren't the way you thought things would happen, etc. So what will we be remembered for? The failing moment, the struggle, the challenge, the problem does not define you and it doesn't define me...or at least it does not have to. If it does it is because we chose to allow it to define us. And if that is you this morning I just want to remind you that you can choose different today. Maybe it has defined you for a day, a month, a year or many years...it does not have to do so a moment longer. You can choose different. Isaiah chose different...so did John O'Leary. There are millions of people who have chosen different...and we celebrate them and their lives. Please Friend, don't let a moment define you! You are created for so much more.
I also want to share a quote from Isaiah's Mom that spoke to me on two different levels:
"It's the plan God has for you. It doesn't change what is destined." - LeShawna Pead on Isaiah's accident
Level I
No matter where you are, the struggles, challenges, setbacks, etc., it doesn't change what God has destined for your life. Please Sweet Friend, let that truth wash over you again and again and again. You may have deep, crippling spiritual, mental, emotional and/or physical wounds. I am truly sorry that you have experienced these things however please know, this has not changed what God has destined for your life. But you must choose to be fully alive. Please don't just live, allowing these things to define you. That is not their purpose and it is not your purpose. I promise you, if you will seek the greatness in yourself every day you will be used by God in powerful ways, ironically, because of what you went through. What will you be remembered for?
Level II
As a Dad this spoke powerfully to my heart! How does a 20-something year old man who has lost part of his leg, his NFL career and, in many ways, his identity, bounce back so quickly saying, "This isn't going to define me!"? And then you see a Mom, full of faith, not choosing pity or fear but rather great faith. Reminding her son that the tragic accident he had suffered did not alter the destiny God has for him. And I am reminded how powerful our actions and words are as parents. How whether our children are 2, 22 or 62-years old, they respond to our faith or fear and always, our actions and words. It inspires me and challenges me to continue to pursue being the best husband and Dad I can possibly be.
I also want to share another quote with you that was in another ESPN story. It was the story about a soccer ball. To explain briefly, Ellison Onizuka was an Astronaut serving as Mission Specialist on the Space Shuttle Challenger. His daughter was on the soccer team at Clear Lake High School where Ellison and his wife also served as assistant coaches. The entire team had signed a soccer ball that Ellison was to carry into space with him on the ill fated Challenger. Amazingly, the ball survived the destruction of the Challenger and was returned to the Onizuka family who then donated the ball to Clear Lake High School where it sat in a trophy case for nearly 30 years. Thanks to Astronaut Shane Kimbrough, the ball did make it into space in 2017. It is a special story and again, I would encourage you to look it up and read it.
What I wanted to share with you this morning is a portion of a quote from Ellison when giving the commencement address at his high school in Kona, Hawaii in 1980.
"...Make your life count, and the world will be a better place because you tried." - Ellison Onizuka
Beautiful, isn't it? Be fully alive, give it your very best and the world will be a better place because you tried. Please note, he did not say "be a smashing success" or "win championships" or the like. He simply said make your life count - be alive! - and the world will be a better place because you tried. Each one of us can choose to make our life count and thus, each one of us can choose to make the world a better place.
As for my thought/perspective...
This past week was amazing...truly amazing! Not because of the beautiful white sand or the clear blue water...though not bad! :) No, this week was amazing because my family and I were blessed by friends, new and old.
Last year we met Rita & Danny, Tracy & Lonnie and their kids. They are from South Carolina. Last year we played tons of wiffle ball games and spent hours talking. It was great to see them again, to play a little more wiffle ball, to spend three hours at a dinner and to again, spend hours talking.
And Kavika...I told y'all about him last year. The first night we got to Destin this year, after hurridly putting everything in our room, we went down to the beach. When we saw Kavika we embraced, all of us happy to see each other again. Kavika has grown so much in a year, his faith greatly deepened, he now serves as a Youth Pastor. A truly amazing young man we visited about faith, fighting for our faith and the reminder that everything we do every day is, in fact, a ministry. We were smarter this year and got Kavika's contact information so we can stay in touch with him throughout the year. :)
And we got to meet some new friends, like Julie & Steve and their precious little boys. They are neighbors of Rita & Danny's in South Carolina. They got indoctrinated into beach wiffle ball games and they were a part of the infamous 3 hour dinner. It was awesome to meet them and we look forward to hopefully seeing them again next year.
Then there are our new friends from Haleyville, Alabama. What are the odds of three couples, all High School Sweethearts, all having boys, being placed right next to each other on a beach in Destin, Florida? With God, I would say pretty good! Missy & Randy and their 3 boys...plus the beautiful girlfriend of one of their sons, Tonya & Bubba and their son...truly amazing people and they blessed the Haslam families lives so richly! We played hours of cornhole games with them - if you ever run into a dude named Randy playing cornhole and he continually throws the bag in the hole, each time saying how lucky he is...DO NOT BELIEVE HIM and definitely don't believe Bubba when he tells you how good you are doing! - and just talking - about life, about college football, about making a difference in the lives of others. I smile thinking of our time with them...
But God wasn't done yet! On our last day, a new family was placed next to us. Joe & Lisa and their kids. Joe just retired after 36 years as a firefighter in Missouri. We got to talking and their beautiful daughter is going to play volleyball in the fall at the University of Saint Mary in Leavenworth, KS...the place where I was once the Head Football Coach & Athletic Director. We had a great conversation and then, as I got up to go out into the water Joe says, "Have you ever heard of a guy named Zig Ziglar?" Poor Joe...this began a long conversation about leadership, intentionally seeking to pour positive into ourselves and to be a positive influence in the lives of others. He never stood a chance! :)
A couple of things...
1. It is the people we encounter in life that make life worth living! Yes, Destin is beautiful and our family had a wonderful time together however it is Rita & Danny, Tracy & Lonnie, Julie & Steve, Missy & Randy, Tonya & Bubba, Lisa & Joe and their amazing families that blessed each one of the Haslam's so richly. It reminds me that we must always value every person, every relationship and to be intentional in them. Our Alabama friends are about to learn what Kavika and our South Carolina friends learned a year ago...they are stuck with the Haslam's! :)
2. It is the moments that matter and we must live fully present in them. It is so easy to get caught up in where we are going, what we need to do next, work, etc. When we do this, we miss the present...and that is the actual gift. Let's not miss the moments Friends. Let's choose to fight for them! I don't know what will happen tomorrow, in a day, in a month or in a year. Heck, I don't know what will happen in the next few hours. I simply know that God has given me this moment I will must choose to live fully present in it.
Please don't hesitate to contact me if there is ever anything I can do for any of you or your families. I will always help you any way I can. You can reach me at kevin@whatwillyourinfluencebe.com.
Have a great day, enjoy the rest of your weekend and please cherish your precious families.
Kev
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