Latest / Crosswalk Talk: Celebrity Christian Interviews / The NFL Fullback Who Became a Psychiatric Nurse

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The NFL Fullback Who Became a Psychiatric Nurse · Crosswalk Talk: Celebrity Christian Interviews

• 0:02
  Speaker 1: Life Audio. Hey, Patrick, thanks for joining me.
• 0:05
  Speaker 2: Thanks for having me.
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: Patrick Pat Hill, former NFL player who is now a
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  Speaker 1: registered nurse and is helping lead a new devotional series
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  Speaker 1: for the devotional app Glorify. It's called Strength in Service. Patrick,
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  Speaker 1: your story, honestly, buddy, it's one of the most inspiring
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  Speaker 1: ones I've ever heard. You grew up playing football. Yeah,
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  Speaker 1: you went to University of Miami, played for the Hurricanes.
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  Speaker 1: You made it to the NFL, played for the Titans.
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  Speaker 1: And you're now a registered nurse. You are, from my understanding,
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  Speaker 1: you're an inpatient psychiatric nurse and an orthopedic nurse practitioner.
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  Speaker 1: Before we get to the series with Glorify, I just
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  Speaker 1: want to ask you, how did you become a nurse?
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  Speaker 1: Why did you want to become a nurse?
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  Speaker 2: So I started off as a pre-med major in college.
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  Speaker 3: And then as I volunteered more and started to hit
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  Speaker 3: some of the hours you needed in the hospital, I
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  Speaker 3: started to notice that Kind of that human interaction, that
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  Speaker 3: connection that you get with people kind of gets lost
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  Speaker 3: in translation as an MD because you're so worried about
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  Speaker 3: other modalities.
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  Speaker 2: I fell in love with just being able to sit down, take.
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  Speaker 3: The time and talk to someone, connect with them on
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  Speaker 3: a personal level, affect their day with everything from conversations
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  Speaker 3: to smiles to showing that I care. So I pivoted
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  Speaker 3: while in the NFL, I ran into a gentleman that
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  Speaker 3: worked at UCLA. He happened to be the dean of
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  Speaker 3: the school there. of nursing that he was like, Hey,
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  Speaker 3: you know, I see your background. Instead of doing a
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  Speaker 3: post-bacc program, why don't you look at this program? And
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  Speaker 3: I ended up getting in and it was just, you know,
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  Speaker 3: everything happened to fall into place from there.
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  Speaker 1: Many athletes, Patrick, struggle with identity after their playing careers
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  Speaker 1: are over. Did you, and did your career kind of
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  Speaker 1: help you find another, I guess, purpose in life for work?
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  Speaker 3: Also for me, Football early on showed me trials and tribulations.
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  Speaker 3: And then, you know, I had to get rooted and
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  Speaker 3: grounded in my faith in Christ. And, you know, I
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  Speaker 3: was a child of God and in my faith. And
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  Speaker 3: then allowed God to lead.
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  Speaker 2: Me a step of the way.
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  Speaker 3: Out of high school, I didn't get the offers that
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  Speaker 3: I wanted. So I went to community college for a semester.
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  Speaker 3: And then I went to the University of Miami. And
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  Speaker 3: then from there, I found my way to college. being
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  Speaker 3: in the lockout year and not getting drafted. So that
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  Speaker 3: was uncertain. But then I got picked up by the Titans,
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  Speaker 3: was waved by the Titans and had stints with the Broncos,
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  Speaker 3: the Texans, got workouts for Green Bay. And then those
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  Speaker 3: doors just kind of stopped opening from a football standpoint.
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  Speaker 3: And then, you know, I asked God really just to
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  Speaker 3: lead me, lead me, guide me, have purposes for my
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  Speaker 3: life is what I wanted out. It always happened to
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  Speaker 3: be some form of service. You know, my position on
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  Speaker 3: build was, a very selfless position as a fullback, you know,
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  Speaker 3: pretty much providing services, blocking for the running back, blocking
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  Speaker 3: for the quarterback, downfield blocking for receivers. So used what
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  Speaker 3: I learned in terms of being selfless and got to
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  Speaker 3: this field.
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  Speaker 2: And it was just an amazing.
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  Speaker 3: Blessing in disguise that all doors closed and American doors opened.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, there haven't been many fullback Heisman Trophy winners in
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  Speaker 1: quite a few decades. You know, Patrick, so I know
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  Speaker 1: exactly what you're talking about. I'm a big football fan,
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  Speaker 1: so I know exactly what you're talking about. You know,
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  Speaker 1: you played in the NFL and major college football where
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  Speaker 1: strength is often measured by power, by speed and toughness.
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  Speaker 1: How does working at a nurse reshape your understanding of
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  Speaker 1: what true strength looks like?
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  Speaker 3: Just working as a nurse has shown me that strength
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  Speaker 3: comes in all shapes and sizes. I mean, you'd be
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  Speaker 3: surprised at how many... People that are at the most
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  Speaker 3: vulnerable states of their life just have unwavering power, unwavering strength,
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  Speaker 3: unwavering faith. And as a nurse, it really dawned on
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  Speaker 3: me that, you know, strength comes kind of silently and
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  Speaker 3: the loudest strength and loudest. victories that you have at
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  Speaker 3: the bedside could be as silent as can be. I mean,
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  Speaker 3: it's something as simple as a hand gesture on the
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  Speaker 3: back of someone who's detrimental, a smile and a hug.
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  Speaker 3: I love the one who has had a successful surgery
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  Speaker 3: and a smile from a loved one and families who
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  Speaker 3: just get to have a normal moment with their loved
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  Speaker 3: one who may be suffering from another dementia. You know,
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  Speaker 3: something as simple as them remembering your name lights up
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  Speaker 3: and sparks just some of the greatest emotions.
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  Speaker 2: So, you know, in terms of strength on the football.
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  Speaker 3: Field, it's lift weights and things of that nature and
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  Speaker 3: kind of boasting and bragging of how you are the
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  Speaker 3: macho guy. Strength at the bedside of nursing is really
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  Speaker 3: you being vulnerable, letting your guard down and also giving
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  Speaker 3: a glimpse of yourself to your patients and their families.
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  Speaker 1: You're a Christian and you're a nurse. How does your
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  Speaker 1: faith impact what you do? Because it seems like to
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  Speaker 1: me that the model of the Old Testament love and
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  Speaker 1: service would certainly impact how you interact with people day
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  Speaker 1: to day.
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  Speaker 2: Would you agree with that? Well, definitely.
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  Speaker 3: I mean, the main thing is, you know, two things,
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  Speaker 3: walking by faith, not by sight is one thing I
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  Speaker 3: like to get my patients to see.
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  Speaker 2: And then also just letting.
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  Speaker 3: Them know, you know, that I want to be that exemplar,
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  Speaker 3: you know, exemplify what Jesus did.
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  Speaker 2: You know, he went out and touched the people.
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  Speaker 3: He didn't hide and he didn't go after the people
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  Speaker 3: that were, quote unquote, perfect. He went after, you know,
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  Speaker 3: the worst of the worst and tried to heal those
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  Speaker 3: that were the sickest. And, you know, I found a
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  Speaker 3: lot of that in this partnership with Glorify and with Mercy.
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  Speaker 3: I mean, this is just amazing with Mercy Ships. Mercy
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  Speaker 3: Ships is phenomenal because they kind of do the same.
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  Speaker 3: I mean, they go into the most vulnerable places that
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  Speaker 3: you can be at and they really provide free services.
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  Speaker 2: And I was like, this is amazing. I mean, this
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  Speaker 2: is this is all I stand for.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, let's switch to that now. You are part of
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  Speaker 1: a 10 part series. with Glorify called Strength in Service. Glorify,
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  Speaker 1: of course, is partnering with Mercy Ships for this devotional.
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  Speaker 1: You and Jacksonville Jaguar. Oh, goodness, I didn't write down
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  Speaker 1: his name, but Jacksonville Jaguar player.
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  Speaker 2: What's his name? Goodness, I'm sorry. Brady.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, we, it was amazing because we were, you know,
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  Speaker 3: we both contacted Mercy Ships with an opportunity to really
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  Speaker 3: get invested and see what they do.
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  Speaker 2: And, you know, they are an organization that is.
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  Speaker 3: Globally, How it's reached the farthest parts of the world
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  Speaker 3: that are medically scarce. And what they do is they
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  Speaker 3: provide drees. It's all volunteer-based, the whole operation. So from
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  Speaker 3: the engineers on the ships to the nurses to the students.
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  Speaker 3: But they provide surgeries for the greatest need, and it's
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  Speaker 3: all volunteer-based. surgeries, but they also give the tools of
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  Speaker 3: the educated to the surgeons in that region who may
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  Speaker 3: deal with things that are reoccurring and that are detrimental
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  Speaker 3: to that society. So partnering with them to be able
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  Speaker 3: to see if they do and then coupling with Glorify,
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  Speaker 3: which is one of the top Christian-based ops where you
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  Speaker 3: can kind of just get all walks of faith that
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  Speaker 3: you need, whether it's minute or two minute or 20
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  Speaker 3: minute or one hour sedentary I've met at ancient prayer
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  Speaker 3: and devotionals.
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  Speaker 2: It was really a special moment for us to be
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  Speaker 2: able to do that.
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  Speaker 1: Give us a preview of this devotional. Like I said,
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  Speaker 1: it's a 10-part series called Strength in Service. What are
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  Speaker 1: one or two maybe lessons from the series or even
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  Speaker 1: stories from the series that you believe will challenge readers?
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  Speaker 3: I think the biggest thing that you'll see that Chandler
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  Speaker 3: and I do a great job of doing is showing
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  Speaker 3: that two guys that are quote unquote macho and come
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  Speaker 3: from these fields where you see a strength in a
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  Speaker 3: different light are being vulnerable with our listeners and showing
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  Speaker 3: that strength comes from all walks of life. And whether
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  Speaker 3: you are at the pinnacle of your career, the top
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  Speaker 3: of the top, or whether you're trying to find yourself,
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  Speaker 3: you can draw strength from our stories and the stories
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  Speaker 3: from Mercy Ship's and seeing things as simple as walking
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  Speaker 3: by faith and not by sight on going on a ship,
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  Speaker 3: not speaking the language, not knowing anyone there, and really
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  Speaker 3: putting your hands in those that God has entrusted to
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  Speaker 3: really make a difference in terms of giving you surgery,
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  Speaker 3: giving you pre-kick during the surgery and in post-care.
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  Speaker 2: And we get.
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  Speaker 3: Vulnerable with our stories and sharing a bit of our
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  Speaker 3: walk of life of how football has helped shape us
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  Speaker 3: where we are, but also how The game has also
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  Speaker 3: given us an opportunity to draw strength from the Lord
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  Speaker 3: in terms of just really, really trusting him and looking
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  Speaker 3: for a greater purpose outside of just football.
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  Speaker 1: I said readers, I should have said listeners earlier. How
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  Speaker 1: did you learn that lesson personally in terms of what
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  Speaker 1: true strength is? Did that come from your faith in
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  Speaker 1: Christ and who Christ is and what he modeled?
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, because I mean, like I say, early on in
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  Speaker 3: my career from, you know, high school standpoint, I mean,
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  Speaker 3: the college standpoint, you know, really, really thinking that I'm
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  Speaker 3: the best guy and that I'm doing things.
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  Speaker 2: And I caught myself saying, I, I, I, me, me,
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  Speaker 2: me and what I'm doing.
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  Speaker 3: And I realized that, you know, as much as I
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  Speaker 3: think I'm in control, I'm not in control. I'm not
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  Speaker 3: in that driver's seat. And, you know, that has a
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  Speaker 3: greater purpose. And we never see it on the surface.
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  Speaker 3: It's always us thinking that, you know, we are 10
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  Speaker 3: steps ahead of anyone else. Christ is actually a time
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  Speaker 3: ahead of us because he's seen what he wants for us.
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  Speaker 3: He's seen the path that he wants us to go down.
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  Speaker 3: And it's on us to really take a step back,
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  Speaker 3: get out of ourselves, and trust the little hints, the
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  Speaker 3: little ways he's moving in your life. Like, for instance,
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  Speaker 3: for me, early on, high school, I was a Miami
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  Speaker 3: fan and wanted to get there some way, somehow, and
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  Speaker 3: felt those doors. everything, second reading a wrestler in Southern
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  Speaker 3: California in the class of 2026.
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  Speaker 2: Not 2026, 2006.
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  Speaker 3: And really thought that I deserved offers that some of
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  Speaker 3: these other guys were getting, but I didn't know the
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  Speaker 3: prayer that I was praying would be answered, which was
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  Speaker 3: really a dream school. So, I ended up having a
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  Speaker 3: few offers and going from a few offers to no offers,
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  Speaker 3: having to go to general college. And really, after a semester,
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  Speaker 3: my dream school coming, I took an official visit and
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  Speaker 3: ended up in Miami. So it was one of those
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  Speaker 3: where it was humbling to really say, you know what, Lord,
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  Speaker 3: I'm praying these prayers. I don't know if you're hearing me,
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  Speaker 3: but you're showing me that you're hearing me. So now
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  Speaker 3: I need to listen. Your answer is to take a
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  Speaker 3: prayer as a praying.
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  Speaker 1: What message would you give young athletes, especially young Christian athletes,
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  Speaker 1: about what true strength is. Because oftentimes, strength is depicted
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  Speaker 1: as being, you know, never showing weakness and being physically strong.
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  Speaker 1: What would you say to a young man like that?
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  Speaker 3: My biggest message is two things. Don't be to be
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  Speaker 3: yourself and don't be afraid to be rooted in Christ.
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  Speaker 3: I think once you do those two things, everything, the
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  Speaker 3: sky's the limit. Because then you become so solidified in
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  Speaker 3: who you are, not only as a football player or whatever,
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  Speaker 3: as a child of God, and not only as a
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  Speaker 3: child of God, as a person that you feel you
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  Speaker 3: should be. And once you are solidified in that, you
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  Speaker 3: play so much freely, you're able to grow so much more,
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  Speaker 3: you're able to draw strength from places that you didn't
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  Speaker 3: know that you had. You can only be.
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  Speaker 2: So much faster, so much physical, so much harder than
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  Speaker 2: the next person.
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  Speaker 3: But where you can excel is by really seeing the
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  Speaker 3: fact that you're a child of Christ and that he
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  Speaker 3: knows his path for you and you really are at
• 11:43
  Speaker 3: peace once you understand that.
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• 11:49
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• 11:59
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• 12:06
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