Getting me through (part ll)

My faith in the Lord has been the thing that has helped me get through.  I read a book this summer written by Charles Stanley, How to Listen to God.  It was Mom’s book, and it was phenomenal.  The one statement that stood out in my mind was, “The same God who gave you the job is the One who allowed it to be taken away.”   CHECK….  I really don’t believe it is God’s will that I not coach, but He also allowed this to be sifted through His hands.  He could have intervened and stopped things from happening.  I asked God to use the situation to work out the best way.

U  Is your faith in the Lord?  U

U  Are you trying to listen to Him?  U

Another thing that has helped me get through is a letter from that one volleyball player of mine who changed so dramatically.  She walked into my office near the end of the school year and handed me a letter I will cherish for the rest of my life.  The reason I have not mentioned her name is because of one of the statements she wrote in the letter.

The first part of the letter was about volleyball stuff and how excited she was about the upcoming volleyball season (before she found out I was not coaching.)  She wrote, “Coach Glenn, I want to thank you.  Thank you for everything you’ve done for me.  Thank you for sacrificing your time to coach, not just during the season, but summers too.  Thank you for being there for me whenever I needed to talk.  Thank you for being a Godly influence for me.  Thank you for making me laugh all the time.  But most of all, thank you for never giving up on me.  No matter how bad it got, you never quit on me.  After my friends, my teachers, even my family gave up on me…you never did.  And when I fell so far that I even gave up on myself, you were still there.  After I was such a jerk to you.  You never left my side.  You stayed on me until I changed my ways.  God only knows where I would be today if it wasn’t for you.  Coach Glenn, you saved me.  In all honesty, I don’t know if I would even be alive today if it weren’t for you.  Thank you for never giving up on me.  Thank you for telling me how proud of me you are.  I don’t hear it that much, and it gets to me every time.  I love you coach.”  And she signed her name.

U  Is there someone in your life God has placed before you to be their cheerleader when everyone else has walked away?  U

Stanley, Charles. How to Listen to God. Nashville:  Thomas Nelson, Inc.,

         Publishers, 1985. 41.