I can remember being excited once again as I started one more football season not long ago. There was a new group of players ready to learn from the coaches. They came in every size, shape and level of ability on that first day. I’m sure each player had their own dreams of how well they would do during the days of practice leading up to the opening game. As I began to work with these young guys, I remembered years ago as I started my freshman year at Fremont dreaming how pleased Coach Hill would be that I was going to play quarterback. I was already a fine quarterback---at least according to all the things I’d accomplished in those dreams most young players have. At the first practice we were told to line up at the positions we wanted to play. I moved to the line of three quarterbacks. Coach Hill looked all of us over and began to tell some of the guys to change lines. He came to the QB line and without hesitation said, “Hitchman, you’re not a QB---move over with the running backs.” It really hurt. It’s tough to be fourteen and have your big dream dashed on the first day.

I thought of when Arlene and I heard that our nephew’s boy, David Hitchman, would not be able to play football in his sophomore year. During the summer we had received a letter from David asking us to support him in a lift-a-thon to raise money for his football spirit-pac. He was looking forward to a successful year as the starting running back on the frosh-soph team. I wrote him a note with our check encouraging him as he finished summer workouts and began Fall practice. Then the news came that his femur is not growing properly and he could not play. I can just imagine how disappointed he was.

I was thinking of sophomores, football and disappointment, our missionary, Tom Randall, rolled into town. He was in the area for the Seniors golf tournament at Pebble Beach. As the Chaplain for the Seniors, he will be leading their Bible Study on Friday evening. Then, we listened to Tom share at a local church on Sunday. He shared stories about his missionary life in the Philippines over the past 31 years. The thing that amazed me that Sunday, as it does every time he speaks at a church or as he shares stories with us in our home, is that he is more alive with excitement and joy at doing what he does than anyone I’ve ever known. I also know that as a college basketball player he led the nation in scoring. He had high hopes of a NBA career. An injury his senior season threatened to end any hopes of playing again. As he spent time in the hospital and later in re-hab, he thought about the claims of Christ on his life that had been shared with him by college friends and his coach. Among the Bible verses that were shared with Tom was Psalm 37:4. It says, “Find your delight in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.” As Tom began to “commit his way to the Lord” (vs 5) and be delighted with the Lord, the direction for his life changed and his desire became to be a missionary in the Philippines sharing the love of Christ with those people. And just guess how the Lord had Tom share Christ’s love in the Philippines! It was by leading groups of mostly college age guys around the country playing basketball and sharing their love for the Lord Jesus at halftime and any other time the young and old would come up and talk to them. Tom is a man who has had a love for adventure---the more wild the better. God has put him in situations where the word ADVNENTURE must be spelled in capitals. Tom says, “What could bring you more joy and excitement and fulfillment than being an ambassador for the great King of the universe?”

I don’t know if my grand-nephew, David, is a Christian and trusts the Lord with his disappointment about not playing football this season. I pray that he has made that commitment to Christ. So, here’s my thought. You will have kids like David on your teams and in your classroom that have or will have hurts and disappointments during the school year. I want to encourage you to allow your delight for the Lord to make you bold as an ambassador for Christ so that we share that our wonderful savior can take the disappointments and give us “the desires of our heart” by serving Him. If we all do this, what wonderful and exciting adventures we will have to share with each other.

Serve the King!

Coach Hitch