Date
Everyone has a date circled in their calendar of when something happened. Your birth date, when you graduated high school or college, married, had a child or maybe something else like your favorite vacation or event.
November 18, 1985
Joe Theisman was on top of the world. He was named Super Bowl XVII MVP in 1983 when he guided the Washington Redskins to the championship over the Miami Dolphins. Joe was one of the highest paid quarterbacks and players in the league in 1985.
A few years ago, I had the unique opportunity to meet Joe and listen to him talk about football and his life. He recalled the 1985 season saw the Redskins have a mediocre season heading into a matchup with rival New York Giants on Monday Night football. He believed he was the sole reason the team was successful and the team could not be successful without him. Heading out to the field, Joe said, “Tonight, your life is about to change Joe.” Little did he know that his life was truly about to change.
During the game, the Redskins ran a play called the flea flicker. This is a designed play in which the quarterback hands the ball off to the runningback and then the runningback tosses it back to the quarterback for the quarterback to throw the ball downfield. When executed properly, a wide receiver is open downfield. On this night, Giants all-pro linebacker Lawrence Taylor hit Joe on his lower right leg. Theisman was left with a compound fracture in his lower right leg and would be carried off the field on a stretcher.
This hit, ended a football career, but also saw a man who thought he could do it all by himself be humbled in the biggest way possible. A man that could throw a football like few others and was at the peak of his game could now do none of the things that made him so invisible.
Later in the evening, Joe explained that he quickly realized he was merely a vehicle of God’s work and he was truly abusing the skills and talents he was given. He had the ability to use his platform to help transform lives, but only with a firm foundation and belief. At a speech at Liberty University, Joe said, “You cannot and will not survive in life if you don’t have a foundation and a belief. You can build the greatest monuments, but they will all crumble at the foot of the Lord because He is almighty.”
He went on to say, “We are all instruments of the Lord, we’re here to serve a purpose … to serve the Lord. We’re here to … work together to serve His greater good.”
We all have goals in our life. Some will happen while others will fail. Are the goals that we have related to the vehicles God has planned out for us? A lot of times, the vehicles and our goals are easily attainable, but also can be “far-fetched” - and it is okay to challenge ourselves and those around us to persevere through the challenges and road blocks. In the tough times, remember perseverance is not going out of style. Live a life of faith and stay rooted in it no matter how good or bad your situation currently is.
Make today your date! You will be amazed at what you can achieve. Embrace your passion, continuously learn something new and grow into something more. Live a life you are proud of and make the world a better place one day at a time!
XOXO
Mark