Last week I had the chance to play golf in a celebrity tournament and have dinner in Charlotte with good friends and breakfast with my daughter Sarah. It was a special couple of days. I enjoyed the burst of energy I seemed to have, working through an entire day from early in the morning to dinner conversations that ran into the nighttime. I felt normal, at least for a day or two.
But, as has been the rhythm of this journey with leukemia, the last 3 days have been just the opposite. Dragging, no juice, pushing just to get up and move from room to room. Such lack of energy used to worry me, but over the past year I have come to accept it as the new norm.
The other day, I was sitting at my desk processing some emails when my cell phone buzzed. It was Coach Wilson. I always enjoy our chats as there is no telling where they may lead, but usually I end up in an encouraged place with greater perspective than just minutes before. Today was no different.
"Hey Coach, whats up?" I answered.
Coach told me that he just got off the phone with Greg McGhee, a rookie QB in the Canadian Football League (who was also Howard University’s All Star QB for 2014). He said Greg was really down. His team the BC Lions had just brought in another veteran QB, moving Greg down to the practice squad. Greg is a man who had started all throughout his high school football career in Pittsburgh, and then throughout his 4 years at Howard. Being a backup, and not being THE GUY is new to him. It’s hard for him. And this is his first time in this situation.
Greg is like our son Shawn (who is a QB at Vanderbilt), in that they both call Coach when they need some interpretation, clarification, or even affirmation on things that are new to them. Coach told Greg, "Hey… the reality is that they could have cut you, but they didn’t. That is a positive." Coach is right.
I listened to coach on the other end of the phone, and my own mind began racing; My heart recalled anxious feelings that I had as an athlete, worried about my future, about being cut, or not getting to play; worried about things beyond my control. Butterflies began to flap in my belly as our conversation continued. Greg is a great young man with a tremendous future ahead of him. He studied in QB class with Shawn in our basement last summer and I felt akin to him and his dreams to play professional football. Although I knew that what Greg was experiencing was all part of the football life, it didn’t make it easy for me to hear.
Coach told Greg that this is life in pro football. It’s a day by day business and it is insensitive. The coaches and the organization are going to do what they think is best, and they aren’t going to consult with the players. Coach Wilson’s advice for Greg was to remember that life doesn’t happen to you, it happens FOR you, and it’s up to you to use it to your advantage; to use it to show others what you are made of inside. “This ain’t the time for you to stick your lip out and pout”. That will get you cut. This is the time for you to work harder. The reality is that pro football for most players is week to week, paycheck to paycheck, and the goal is to get 16 paychecks in a row. Most 10 year vets that aren’t in the hall of fame were survivors and their number one asset wasn’t always that they were the best of the best, but rather that they were available on Sundays.
It never ceases to amaze me how Coach Wilson’s football advice applies directly to my life; to everyone’s life… everyday. It’s not about what happens TO you, but rather it’s about how you react, respond, and handle what life throws your way. I listened intently to Coach’s words.
Coach said that he emphasized to Greg that no matter what things look like now, an opportunity will come. That's when Greg better be ready, because in that moment a trajectory will be created for the rest of his career. So in a sense, nothing has changed for Greg. Coach told him that he is still preparing every day for WHEN. Because when ”WHEN” comes, it’s too late to prepare…so, don’t waste a day. Not one.
Coach and I finished our conversation and I told him to tell Greg to hang in there and keep "preparing". He said he would.
I hung up the phone and felt inspired in my own life. That is how it is with so many of my conversations with Coach. On the surface it sounds like it’s all about football, but really, these conversations are about LIFE. So much is applicable to my family and my faith and my walk with leukemia. Because no matter what happens to us, we can’t waste a single day. Rather, this is the time to practice and prepare… choosing how we respond to whatever life throws our way. "This ain’t the time to stick out our lip and pout".
I can feel my energy coming back to me as I type. In an hour the kids will be home from the museum and I will get to play with them through dinner time, then bath time and then we snuggle and say our prayers. I will be ready.
Amen and amen.