DEVOTIONAL PASSAGE
“Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall” Proverbs 16:18
DEVOTIONAL MESSAGE
When I committed to start expressing myself through blogging, I promised to always be transparent and honest. In doing that, it requires a very deep level of vulnerability. Nowadays that isn’t something that a lot of people are okay with, what I mean is that most are publicizing a facade online and trying to live up to expectations made by individuals you may not even know; I am doing the exact opposite hoping that others will understand we have to be open and truthful to grow.
Truth; the past week for my family has been very trying, nothing short of a test of our faith. God gave me a vision for my oldest son when he was around six years old. He showed me my son running a touchdown in a NFL football game. My son had only played one year in little league but cried to me about that being the only thing that he wanted to do. So like most parents, everything that I could do that gave him the advantage and opportunity to do what he loved, I was all in. Me as a single parent and business owner, this was never an easy task. Even then God put people in my path that believed in the destiny of my son. I cannot take all the credit. His coaches all the way through high school were very instrumental in the man that he is today. Even his barber, but that still wasn’t enough when there is a lesson to be learned.
Fast-forward to April 1, 2011, my son Germone committed to Clemson University. He was the top wide receiver recruit in North Carolina and the only receiver that Clemson would bring into rotation in 2012. He would be able to stand behind the greatest player Clemson ever had. His future was very bright. He was on a winning team and his dream of playing in the National Football league was getting closer and closer. Who knows that “To whom much is given, much is required”? See Germone wasn’t any different that most of us. We think we don’t have to change or separate to elevate. We want what we want without heartaches, trials, and tribulations. Things were not as smooth as we thought. I thought that my son saw this as an opportunity that couldn’t be taken for granted but he did the very opposite. His pride had him thinking that the team needed him and he could do whatever he wanted. He thought he had already arrived. When he should have been studying the game, he was partying. When he should have been on campus, he was in Charlotte. And just what he thought would never happen, happened. He lost his position as a starter. Now, I don’t know if anyone has ever experienced being demoted. Not only being demoted on a private level but literally on National Television. For an adult that is difficult, so for a child who has always been at the top of his game and always getting recognition to now being questioned of why you aren’t playing, I am not sure if the most mature adult can even handle that kind of pressure. I know it would have been hard for me.
But as a Believer, I had to watch his downward spiral and still remember the promise the Lord had shown me. On a Friday I received a call that my son had not shown up in class or practice all week. I am human, I love Christ, yet I felt somewhat hopeless, angry, and a failure as a parent. Quit school? Walked away from a National Championship team? Wont talk to me? This doesn’t look like what I have fasted and prayed for. This looks like what statistics said our fate as a family would be. It looked more and more like my worse nightmare for my son as a black man. So much potential that would end up as lifelong regrets.
Clemson went on to be the National Champions in College Football this year, my son suffered from severe depression. He watched his teammates drafted to professional teams, he sat by the phone. I fasted, prayed and repeated everyday “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord”. Today my son is in San Francisco. Trying out for a NFL team and completely depression free. His detour was what he needed, what he had to have happen to appreciate and know what it is to be humbled. And to learn from those life lessons. I had to have my prayer life strengthened and to really see who was for me. I needed to grow and walk in my faith. I have, he has, and now I have an even greater expectation of what the Lord has in store for us.
So I want to remind you today from a very transparent place that just when you may think its over, its not over until God says its over. And that over wont be until what he has shown you has come to pass.
Contributed by: NaTosha Stewart
Natasha is a resident of North Carolina. She is the proud mother of two sons, a successful stylist of 25 years and owner of Charlotte Hair Therapist and a recent graduate of Johnson C. Smith University. She is a faithful covenant partner of The Sanctuary, and a passionate and zealous woman of many talents who is eager to share her wisdom and knowledge with those who are seeking to radiate the glory and beauty of God from the inside out. If this devotional has fed your soul, please share with your friends and family. Click the social share button or leave a comment in the box below for Natosha.