“Man’s goings are of the LORD; How can a man then understand his own way?”
Proverbs 20:24 KJV
This one is personal to me. Please allow me to tell a (sort-of) short version of my story so far.
As a young man, my aspirations were to do 3 things in life… ok, actually 4 things.
1. I wanted to join the military and participate in Special Forces.
2. I wanted to play professional football on special teams. I was a long snapper, the guy who hikes the ball to the Holder or Punter for it to be kicked.
3. I wanted my football career to lead to a coaching position.
4. I wanted to be a Rodeo Clown.
In High School, playing football and baseball, I sustained several injuries, broken bones, a ruptured kidney, separated shoulders and possible concussions. As graduation neared I attempted to enter the military but had no luck with the Army, Navy or Marines as they informed me my injuries would preclude me from service. Neither the Air Force nor the Coast Guard would meet with me.
I moved forward with my football career and received an Academic Scholarship to play for a small local football program. After making the cut I was officially a Collegiate Athlete. I felt on top of the world. As fate would have it, shortly after the season started a couple of injuries moved me from Outside Linebacker position to Punter. No kidding, I was literally the 8th string Punter. I did get lots of reps long snapping which fit my career path aspirations and I was hoping to be the long snapper the next year when I would be cleared for contact.
Once again, my plans were smashed but this time it was a hard pill to swallow. I attended a meeting where one of the worlds strongest men put on a weight lifting exposition and gave a message afterwards where he addressed living for Christ. He said God would lead me in a far better path than I could plot for myself.
Having grown up in church none of what he said was new material, I had heard it all before. But it hit me differently this time. I felt the call. It felt like God was talking directly to me. I did NOT want to hear what he had to say and did not want to do or go anywhere other than what I had planned out. Yet, I heard a quiet and small voice call to my heart. It was promising a better path if I agreed to follow. I may have been standing in a pew in the back of an auditorium but I was locked in mortal combat as a war was raging inside.
I made a bargain with that voice. I don’t necessarily think we have the right to bargain with fate or God but it was the only option I felt I had. I knew I was supposed to do what was right and I knew this was right. I would have been living a lie if I kept going in my current path. So, I presented my negotiation to the voice calling me. I agreed to switch allegiance from myself to God if he would promise me the outcome would increase my value. That small voice assured me the trade was worth vastly more than what I was giving up; so, I took the deal. Stepping out of the back row and walking down to the front of the auditorium on what was supposed to be the last verse of an alter call, I was the only person who had come forward during the invitation. Well, technically, I was the first person to come to the alter during the invitation. When I knelt to pray I was all alone. Evidently, God had been talking to several others as well. They chose to answer too.
I switched colleges and went to a school I really did not care for or agree with on several issues but I knew that was where I was supposed to be. While there I met my Wife. After we graduated we moved back to Tennessee and took a job working for a Church and teaching school. That fell apart so we moved back to East Tennessee where I had grown up and we did our best to start over and make our way. We ended up living with my Mamaw (Grandmother). We started a couple of small businesses and did whatever we could to pay the bills. We learned lessons the hard way and fought life’s battles along the way. It was hard and sometimes seemed pointless. However, we got the ball rolling in the right direction.
Concerning where my previous plans would have taken me, it looks like this: Here I sit, 29 years later. Football seems to have been hijacked by Wokeness during COVID. It turned me off to much of the sport and I have not watched a full Collegiate or Professional game in some time. I tried four times to get into the military but they never would take me. I reckon, unless by some act of God, at my current 47 years of age that ship has sailed. I do teach and coach now more than ever before but not in a way I ever conceived possible. And, I don’t plan on getting in a Rodeo Clown outfit
anytime in the foreseeable future.
But…
I found out I love to write.
I am pretty good with numbers.
I have a Wife that loves me even though I can be a hardheaded jerk sometimes.
I have kids that I love to spend time with.
I am an Entrepreneur and am licensed in at least 3 separate fields which means there is always something new to learn.
I have a good life and some really good friends.
I eat well, enjoy the exercise I get, drink what I am supposed to and have a little more chocolate than I probably should.
At the end of the day I can put my head on a pillow and respect myself.
After years of slogging through life, I finally found a way to not dread tomorrow. For years I prayed at night to die in my sleep and not have to wake up and face the next day; but that is not the case anymore.
What I am trying to say, is the life I wanted was a figment of my imagination that vanished like a vapor, but I found something VASTLY superior. It took me a long time to realize it and It took a lot of fighting through hard lessons. It took a lot of studying and a lot of deep dives into pools of wisdom. Hopefully, my long, slow, arduous journey through learning the shadowy and hidden truths behind these Proverbs can help expedite your journey.
A word of caution: If you think you have arrived, as in, you are educated,you have life by the tail, you are wise and now you know what is going on or you reached a point where you can simply coast through life… A new set of lessons are coming for you to learn.
Remember- by humility and the fear of the LORD are riches and honor and life.