No matter where you’re at now, You are even Greater.

 

The Story Behind Got Got Me, God Got You

The last thing I remember before the accident is my drive back from Illinois to Des Moines with my teammate and now U.S National team member Brandon Wright on November, 29th 2013. We talked about what we wanted to do in our lives. He wanted to tell people to Regret No Opportunity through a movement he started, & I wanted to show everyone God is real. I talked about showing people through the things I was going to accomplish in wrestling based off of never making a state tournament to doing what in my mind I was going to do, which was win everything! Then the next thing I remember is leaving the hospital with my mother on December 24th, 2013. Really still confused why I wasn’t going to my college home! We went to my home town of Galesburg, IL. Riding in the passenger seat because I had to,  I knew inside this was far from over. With huge dreams still being possible, I had to now focus on my small goals in light of still being able to chase my dreams. I never once accepted my reality is permanent. 23 years old at the time and barely scratching my potential, in my mind the question God asked me was “How bad do you want this?” I wanted to just wake up and have only lived it in a dream but this was real! Facing my reality head on, in less than a month I went from the best wrestler in the country to living at home in my parent’s dining room. The motivation came from a lot of places, especially being 23 and close to finishing school and capping off a great senior season. The hardest part wasn’t the work I put in to make it possible, the hardest part was fighting enemy forces telling me I wasn’t going to do what I was working for! John 10:10 tells us the enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy, but Jesus has come so we may have life and have it to its fullness! The enemy we all face tried to steal my joy, kill off my dreams and destroy my hope but God stepped in as he does for us every time. I just had to have faith in it! I could of let the many doubts, worries, and fears stop my progress and settle for the condition I was in but my Faith in God and me being able to do anything through Christ gave me strength, courage and enough hope to try and not stop until what I’m praying for has come into existence. Instead of focusing on how long it will be until, I just worked for a chance to and then I looked up and after a few months of rehab, a rebroken and wired up jaw, lots of prayers I was going to get cleared to go back to school and start wrestling again! I heard “no” so many times that I got tired of hearing “no”. I decided to listen to the still small voice of God in my head tell me “keep going”, “don’t stop”, “you’re able”, “Do you believe in me?”, “I am with you”. God never promises us an easy life and yes bad things happen to good people in a broken world, but that is exactly why we are still able through Christ! How many times have you let another human’s “No” stop your progress? In my mind those “no’s” are influences from enemy forces to do what he has come to do & the enemy doesn’t sleep! That’s when you have to know angels of protection our encamped around us, Faith is believing in what you can’t see, so knowing that the enemy can do anything but kill me I faced this giant just as David stood up against Goliath and instead of taking everything lost as it being over I stood strong in God just as Job did! The Bible isn’t there to just tell us what happened then, it’s alive and active to show us what we are to do now!

The battle doing what I fought for!

I forgot everything I learned about wrestling mechanic wise since 6th grade! Talk about a tough truth to take in! Before the accident I was one of the studs in the room that showed up everyday ready to battle and leave everyday knowing I got better! I now had true freshman pushing me to the points of questioning myself if I could still do this! Tears came when I was alone and just thought about it, but I didn’t come this far for no reason so I stayed consistent and battled, slowly but surely I kept getting better! My problem now looking at things is I kept comparing my progress to others not taking into account what I recently been through, I just wanted to be winning again! I say that to remind you to not compare your progress to anyone else, I would of been better if my focus then was to just only be a better me everyday! After months of wrestling, swimming, other conditioning my opportunity was approaching & what better place than Las Vegas. From April until December I went from a beginner to a now college wrestler ready to go and fight for a win! I weighed in at 157 lbs and knew God was with me through it all for me to be moments away from going to battle again for real now when a year prior I was relearning how to walk again! (Thank you God)! I had a chance to not just win but relive my entire last year in the moments of a 7 minute wrestling match! I scored  first meaning I was winning, I then got caught on my back meaning it could have been over for me and I could have stayed there and accepted my loss, but my fight and want to win was created from being there before. Behind in the match I find a way to get off my back and comeback, I then took the lead and secured the win with riding time! “To God be the Glory”, the match ended I was the victor and instantly dropped to my knees Thanking God for everything! A few months later I danced across my College Graduation stage because the testimony wasn’t over yet. I once heard i’d never go to school again, I graduated(Thank you God)!

From then until now

Over the next year I worked as a paraprofessional with students who the doctors told me I’d once be! Powerful, I learned that these students are more than amazing! You just have to take the time to find out for yourself if you don’t already know it, the gifts my students had were nothing but God’s doing! These kids wowed me everyday and God placing me there reassured me of what my calling is and that’s to just  be an example of knowing and believing God is still in control!  Remember bad things happen to good people in a broken world but God gave us Christ so you, others and those who don’t know are able and remember it’s going to get better! In less than 4 years I’m now in my 2nd year of Grad school to be a counselor that helps lead my clients to their promised greater! I’ve been given the opportunity to wrestle on the senior level and win something bigger than the National title that I wanted! The promise is even Greater, I’m still doing more because I can and able to!!! I love you all and I just want you to be all that you can still be, no matter how broken you think you are God is greater, trust his plan, your own faith and know God is for you!