From Rags to Riches
Dear Champions,
This short excerpt is from an old article. It is longer than usual but worth the read. Perhaps it was an FCA article, but I'm not sure. The Scripture 1 Peter 5:6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.
Kurt Warner, former NFL quarterback inducted in the Hall of Fame this year (2017), became a Christian shortly after tragedy touched his life. The parents of his girlfriend Brenda, now his wife, were killed when a tornado demolished their home in Mountain View, Ark. They had planned to be baptized that night, but stayed home because Brenda's mother had a headache, USA Today said. People at the church were spared. Warner watched as Brenda, a Christian, responded to the tragedy with poise and grace rather than self-pity. He also knew how she had dealt with a crippling accident suffered by her son, Zachary, eight years earlier, when he was dropped on his head as a baby. Brenda sat in a rocking chair next to Zachary's hospital crib for 17 days, watching as he suffered seizures, quoting Bible verses, and asking God to perform a miracle. Although legally blind and brain-damaged, Zachary can read and gets around fairly well.
Warner's long road to gridiron success was filled with setbacks and bad breaks. He warmed the bench for four years at the University of Northern Iowa. Finally getting a chance as a fifth-year senior, he led the Panthers to the NCAA Division I-AA semifinals and was named the Gateway Conference Offensive Player of the Year. But he was passed over in the NFL draft and rejected by the Canadian Football League. Warner took a job stocking shelves for minimum wage at the Hy-Vee supermarket in Cedar Falls, Iowa, while he worked out at a college practice field during the day. A year later he was playing again, but in small-time Arena football, an indoor game using eight players on a side and 50-yard fields. He missed a tryout for the Chicago Bears in 1997 when he was bitten on the elbow by a vicious spider, leaving him unable to throw. After three years he took a step up. He was signed by the Rams and sent to the Amsterdam Admirals of NFL Europe, where in the spring of 1998 he led the league in passing yardage and touchdowns. The Rams hired Warner for the 1998 season, but he played in only one game. He was left unprotected in the expansion draft, but the new Cleveland Browns didn't want him either. Warner was still with the Rams in 1999, but the team signed superstar-prospect quarterback Trent Green before the season for $16.5 million, and it looked like Warner would be overlooked again. Green got hurt, and Warner stepped up to take his place. To the surprise of almost everyone, he threw a record 41 touchdown passes, led the league in completion percentage, and took the Rams to the best record in their conference, 13-3. In five months he had gone from being an anonymous bench-sitter to a Pro Bowl selection, and was named the NFL's most valuable player.
Warner told his story years ago at a Billy Graham event. Who am I? I am a devout Christian man, he told the crowd of 40,000. I am not a football player. That is what I do. When I throw a touchdown pass now, my thoughts are on how can I use this success on the field as a platform to glorify and praise my Lord Jesus Christ.
Champions, have a great week!-David Vining
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