Friday, September 28, 2018

It Happened!

Happy Friday Friends!

I hope & trust this post finds you all having a great day as a glorious new day prepares to dawn on the Texas Gulf Coast. I also sincerely hope you have all had a great week!

It happened! No, it didn't make national or even local news but, it happened! At approximately 6:22 p.m. last Saturday, September 22, 2018, Payton Haslam ran onto the field at TDECU Stadium at the University of Houston in full uniform to begin pregame warm-ups as a member of the Cougar football team! As if this were not a great enough blessing, something even more remarkable happened at approximately 10:05 p.m. CST - yes, I looked...you realize when something of true significance is happening! :) Payton lined up and ran down the field to cover a kick-off! It was his first play as a Division I college football player. More importantly, it was the completion of a dream he had relentlessly pursued since he was 2, maybe 3-years old.

For those of you who don't know, let me give you a quick breakdown. I have the privilege and honor of being Payton's Dad. Out of high school Payton had a football scholarship to a small college in South Dakota. He however had a dream of playing Division I college football and over his Thanksgiving break of his first year in South Dakota he informed my Beautiful Bride and I that he would be walking away from his scholarship to chase his dream. He fought and struggled for 2 years pursuing this dream. He went to walk-on tryouts and made the team! He has now worked his tail off for 2 years and then got this opportunity last Saturday night! A very quick breakdown that does not adequately capture the faith, strength & perseverance that this great man - yeah, that is what he is! :) - has demonstrated to get here but you get the point.

This morning I am going to share 3 observations about this journey but before I do, I am going to share a couple of, what I think, are hilarious moments from last Saturday night. I am a Dad and I had a couple of Dad moments! :)

The first one happened before the team ran out on the field to warm-up. I really wanted to catch a picture of the first time Payton actually ran onto the field. I walk around to the other side of the stadium, position myself by the tunnel...I am ready. I check my cell phone about 100 times to make sure the camera is ready. And then the players, all of them, come running out of the tunnel. When you have nearly 100 players running out of a tunnel, all dressed exactly the same, it is not easy to find your player! Sheer panic sets in! I am scanning frantically trying to find MY player! By the grace of God I find him about 3 steps before he actually steps on the field and I get the picture...a picture I will cherish the rest of my life and that for the rest of his will remind Payton that he once chased a crazy dream and caught it! 

The second one happened right around 10:03 p.m. I figured if Payton were to get an opportunity to get on the field it would probably be on special teams and it would probably be on a kick-off. Every time the players ran out onto the field for a kick-off I would look intensely for my player. When it did happen, I pointed and started shouting, "He is going in! He is going in!" Now, you wanna talk about an awkward moment? This is not normal behavior when you are sitting in the family section, with the families of all the other players. Gehrig, my middle Tender Warrior say, "Dad! Shhhhh!" Maybe not appropriate but I really didn't care! :) And the sweet families sitting around us were all so kind & gracious, happy for Payton and his family.

So now that we have established once again that yes, I am a goof, I would like to share a few things I have learned/reflected on from this blessed journey.

1. When Payton first told Kath & I that he intended to leave his school in South Dakota I told him I thought he was making a mistake. He respectfully listened to me and my reasons why and then - thankfully! - he followed the calling of his heart. And though he didn't do what I thought he should do, I have loved him unconditionally and supported him fully every step of this journey. When things weren't looking real good I didn't throw out "I told you so's" or tell him that it looked like he made a mistake. While I fully realize I make a ton of mistakes as a Dad, one thing God had really impressed upon my heart is that my boys' journey's is not about me, it is about them. And, God has given me the honor & privilege of leading, guiding & directing them as they pursue the hopes, goals & dreams that God has placed in their hearts. It doesn't matter if I agreed or disagreed...what really mattered is what Payton believed in his heart! My role, a sacred one, is to be his champion in whatever endeavor(s) he chooses to pursue. How many families are broken, dreams go unpursued because the son or daughter is not pursuing what Mom and/or Dad wanted them to do? It is not about us Mom & Dad...it is about these precious gifts God has given us! And every kid, no matter the age, needs a champion! Please, love them unconditionally and support the hopes, goals & dreams tucked into their hearts!

2. I could not love Payton more or be more proud to be his Dad. No, he is not one of the "stars" on the team and most people outside our family and friends don't even know there is a guy on the UH football team named Payton Haslam. We all have roles to play on our teams and Payton plays his extremely well. Each day it is his job to run the offensive plays of the team we are going to play that week against our defense...every day he gets the opportunity to go against the very best defensive players we have. If he does his job well, the defense will be prepared. If he doesn't, they won't. It is a critically important role. Everyone wants to be the "star" however every single person in an organization is critically important and if each doesn't fulfill their role to the very best of their ability, the organization will not reach it's full potential. Oh, it might be good however there is a huge difference between being labeled "good" by societal standards and truly reaching your full potential.

And please never forget, what you do does not determine who you are! Your self-worth is not tied to the role you play. While we will all play different roles on different teams throughout our lives, the most critical part of who you are is the person you really are. For everyone the lights will eventually fade, you will have played your last game, the music will stop...what then? Then you will be left with the person you have become throughout your journey. I pray we will be more concerned about our character than our role on a given team for this is who we really are and it will determine the quality of lives we live!

3. Please, chase your lion. This is a phrase Payton and I say to each other every day - "#ChaseTheLion." We say it based on Mark Batterson's book, Chase The Lion: If Your Dream Doesn't Scare You, It's Too Small. To help you understand what I am talking about, here are a couple of excerpts about the book from Mark's website which you can find at markbatterson.com.

"Chase the Lion is more than a catch phrase; it's a radically different approach to life. It's only when we stop fearing failure hat we can fully seize opportunity by the mane."

"This is a wake-up call to stop living as if the purpose of this life was simply arrive safely at death. Our dreams should scare us. They should be so big that without God they would be impossible to achieve. Quit running away from what you're afraid of."

"These are the kind of dreams that will make you a bigger person and the world a better place."

I also want to share a quote from Arthur Ashe with you and then link his quote with Chase the Lion.

"Success is a journey, not a destination. The doing is often more important than the outcome." - Arthur Ashe

You see, whether Payton made the team or stepped on to the field is really irrelevant. The first victory was achieved the moment he made the decision to chase his lion and then actually did it. There have been countless other victories as he has learned to walk by faith in spite of utter darkness (no visible proof that he was on the right path), to persevere through setbacks & disappointments, to be incredibly disciplined, to sacrifice greatly...and so many more. His growth as a man has truly been phenomenal and it all started with a decision to chase the lion. And be sure, this is not the last, nor smallest, lion Payton will chase. That is the way life works. However, now, Payton has the knowledge & experience of a lion chaser. He knows the benefit of faith, perseverance, discipline and sacrifice. When he hears the roar again he will boldly run towards the roar because he knows, with God's help, he can do it...whatever "it" is. This is my hope & prayer for you & I...that when we hear the roar, we will run to it! God blessed me with a great example, a testimony, and I have the honor & privilege of calling him my son. #ChaseTheLion

Please don't hesitate to contact me if there is ever anything I can do for you. I will always help you any way I can. You can reach me at kevin@whatwillyourinfluencebe.com.

Have a great day, a wonderful weekend and please cherish your precious families.

Kev

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