I was a football player. Football, for me, was not just a sport or something to pass the time; it was my identity. I had plans. I had offers from Division One colleges. I had my life all figured out. Football was who I was, the center of my life. I idolized the sport.

I have to admit that I felt God tugging on my heart. I knew God wanted me to strive to better our relationship as much as I worked to better myself in football. I wasn’t having any of it; football was my life.

In the seventh game of my senior year, I tore my ACL. Imagine the anger I felt toward God as I lost every single one of my college offers.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
Deuteronomy 6:5 (NIV)

Working through my anger and disappointment, I have come to realize that my relationship with God needs to be the Number One priority in my life. I must find my identity in God. I now pursue God with a fire in my heart a million times stronger than I had for football. I know that nothing but the love of God can make me truly happy.

JOURNAL: Write about a time when a difficult change in your life turned you toward God.