Growing up, everyone knew me as “the soccer guy”. I was raised in a Christian family, and for that, I’m so grateful. But to be honest, I only ever went to church because I wanted to have success on the soccer field. I would pray when I needed help, or felt trapped in that stage of my soccer career. When I was succeeding? My faith was nowhere to be found. I was very blessed to grow up in an area that I always had food on the table and my parents supported me in everything I did, but this created a life where my faith was never really tested. Yeah, I knew about God, but I didn’t have an intimate relationship with Jesus.
April 7th, 2015. That’s when things changed forever. My best friend in the entire world. The girl I loved with every bone I had – passed away suddenly. Meningitis got to her badly and I realized I would never get to see her again. I went into a season of depression, and I started to get very sick. I had to report to Xavier early to take a class and begin training, but something just wasn’t right.
I couldn’t run and didn’t feel like myself. During this time, Mark, a man involved with the Athletes in Action ministry approached me and wanted to talk about my faith. He introduced me to Jesus and that’s when I started to get more involved with my true identity. Turns out, I was actually very sick. I was diagnosed with Aflatoxin – exposure to black, toxic mold. I had to attend a rehab clinic in Kansas to revive my body to even have a chance of playing soccer again.
In the blink of an eye, there I was. Sitting in the hospital bed, getting my blood taken out of my body to be cleaned, no friends within a thousand miles of me, my dad who just had a heart attack, and my best friend who just died. That’s when I asked myself, “What are you even living for, man?”
I was a slave to my reputation for my entire life. I wanted everyone to think that I was the nicest, kindest, and most athletic guy in the world who had everything together. Soccer was who I was, and now? It may be gone forever. It was at that moment when I said, “God, I don’t want to go through this life alone anymore. I give you the keys to my life. I no longer want to make this life about me, but I want to make it about Jesus”
In that hospital bed, I surrendered my life to Christ and my life changed forever. Shortly after, I was able to make a full recovery. I started to get very involved with campus ministry, dove into the Bible every day, and even began discipling my teammates and other athletes on campus. It was never meant to be an easy journey, but today, I am writing this as the captain of the Men’s Soccer team. I am grateful to my family for always sticking by my side, my coaches, and my teammates who never gave up on me.
But most importantly, I’m grateful for a God who will always be my rock and my salvation.