Lt. Col. Greg Gadson on May 7, 2007 was returning from a memorial service for two soldiers from his brigade when he lost both his legs to a roadside bomb in Baghdad. Before he was a soldier on the battlefield, he was a soldier on the gridiron wearing number 98 for Army. When one of his former teammates, Mike Sullivan, heard his tragic story he immediately contacted him along with other West Point teammates to support Greg and his family. Sullivan who now was an assistant coach for the New York Giants asked Greg to come give a locker room speech to the team. Many have attributed the stirring words of Greg that day to the run of victories that have led the Giants to the Super Bowl XLII. His words that the team have rallied around ended with the solemn reminder, “…nothing is promised to anybody in this life, starting with tomorrow.”
Little Orphan Annie may belt out, “The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow,” but reality is as Jesus proclaimed, “…do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own (Matthew 6:34).” Each day, each endeavor, each moment should be met with assurance this is what I have and I must make the best of it. Whether it’s leaving every thing you’ve got on the football field or making sure you don’t forget to tell your loved ones how much you love them… staying in the moment and doing the best you can is the road to victory. Yes, one can look to the future but not by overlooking the present.
I vividly remember when my father was in Doctor’s hospital in Modesto apparently rebounding from a massive heart attack. It had been quite a stormy affair and with what seemed like a break in the storm my Dad sent us off to get something to eat. I remained. After awhile Dad convinced me to join the others… and as I was walking out of his room something deep within me literally stopped me in my tracks and I turned around and looked into in father’s eyes like never before and said, “Dad, I love you!” He responded in kind and sent me on my way… that was the last time we got to speak without tubes, and noisy life support machinery clouding the sky with the return of stormy times. I’m thankful God stopped me in my tracks!
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