The following is a transcript of my Facebook Live done February 5, 2020 @ 6:52am CST.
This is day 9,125 of “Possibility Me.” A 25-year journey, overcoming the obstacles of my past and living into a future that was forged by me and through me, by a God who loves me and has a plan for us to have a hope and a future. And why I can say that with such great confidence is because 25 years ago, on this day, THIS guy fell down a mountain. He should be dead.
I had a terrible accident. I took the last run of the day on a mountain in the Sierra Nevadas by Lake Tahoe. Of all places I was at Heavenly Valley skiing with my friends (Happy Birthday, Happy 50th Brian!) It was just a phenomenal day and I’d done the run for lunch. And I figured well why not do it the end of the day? And my friend said “Well… it sounds a little icy” and I’m like “Oh come on chicken, let’s go! Alright… fine, I’ll follow you down, under your chair and I’ll show how much fun it is!” And it was not fun. I fell and I fell what they estimate about 1200 feet as I tumbled down a Double Diamond 45-degree incline with this pure ice and didn’t wake up for a week. In fact, the prognosis was I should have died.
I’m going to post a video a little bit later [Click here OR Scroll down] of my mom as she testifies and puts a, puts a summary to it. There are some graphic pictures so I’ll warn you now and I’ll warn you then, but I just want to acknowledge and celebrate the fact that here I am 25 years later. I’ve got these guys my life.
They are just incredible gifts from God. I’ve got a life that I, I can’t believe. Here I am 25 years later, growing, learning, when really I should be dead. I mean, and here I am able to say with confidence that despite all our circumstances, all the evidence we may collect that right now is terrible because look at all the “past things” that led to here and all the present circumstances that are coming in our lives that make it hard. But you know… and then we can even predict based on all those “past things” and our present circumstances, what lies ahead in the future [The “The Persuasive Influence of the Past” – Day 3 – which learned about at the Landmark Forum in 2004]. But I tell you, there’s something beyond the future that we can see. There’s something that we can actually live into when we see that there is a perfect future place where we are with God forever. And I don’t… I’m not an evangelist, I’m just a guy who shouldn’t be here… I shouldn’t be here right now.
And I am so thankful. I can’t let this day go by. Twenty-five years of realizing I shouldn’t be here. And that is something to share. Something to talk about, something to, to be encouraged by. We all have our problems. We are all struggling in some way. And maybe some of us struggle more visibly, maybe some of us struggle like me on the inside, you know, a head injury has a residual impact. And for so long, I was in denial that it affected me in any way. And it still does today. I’m still working through some of the things that come from having beaten my head against a mountain for 1200 feet and then being, you know, resistant to it. But I just want to share a couple of words because we’re coming into this decade, and I’ve, it’s, it’s been great. It’s February 5th, 2020, 25 years from the day that I fell at a mountain and the word I still am taking on is Humility for this year and really forever. I took that word on every day last year and, and just really experienced that I am so far from being humble. And I sometimes get envious of people who are just naturally, gracefully. They’re not being less than they’re just being great. But being great while being great. They’re not, you know, applied in their own good efforts. So a couple of other words, though, besides Grace and Humility, that I think will help us all finish strong. Well, one, we have to have Belief. We have to believe that we can finish strong and that God has a plan for you and I. With that, who are we? What’s our identity? What do we actually think that we are because one of the things I’ve realized is I’m an athlete, or at least athletic because I’m doing a half Ironman in like 80-something days and it’s crazy. But then we need to trust that identity that we now have belief in. So again, Belief, Identity, Trust. And here’s the piece that you know, it sometimes seems like we’re not able, but he is able. Transformation is that next piece. If we can understand that there is a process, we may not understand it, it will happen if we allow it. If we can just trust that it will happen inside of the identity of who we are because we believe that, we will be transformed in new creations. 2nd Corinthians 5:17 talks about the old is gone, the new has come; we are transformed. And then finally, nothing works without Integrity. Integrity in what we believe, integrity in who we believe we are, and whose we are. Integrity in what we trust in and who we trust in. And certainly integrity in the transformation that we experience in our lives. Not as something we do, but who we’re being. And inside of that transformation, being is really all there is to it. We are not human doings. But often all we’re caught in is an ongoing process of doing and doing and doing. So today I challenge you to be the light that you are to shine brightly in the dark places of your life and others to bring Compassion, Humility, Grace.
I am so thankful for the gift that God gave me. I’m so thankful for some of the insights he’s given me. Those five words are so powerful, but there’s a word that I want to include in that. It’s part of my five rules for living, it’s part of the beliefs I have. And it’s not something we generate when we try and work harder and harder and harder to learn and persist and grow. It’s called Faith. It’s the rule zero of all of life’s rules. It’s not something we can make. Faith is a gift we’re given. And we have to ask. Some of you have not asked, because you don’t believe you can receive. When I was an atheist, and I was an atheist for, let’s see 18, I definitely bought into the atheist legend by 18. And that lasted until really 26 years old, so eight years. And I wasn’t the kind of guy that argued with you. I was just the kind of guy that said, “Well, you know, why tell children there is no Santa Claus? Why do that?” So fine if you don’t believe there is no God. But what I understand now is, there is. And I asked this question, I said, “Well, how can I pray to a God that I don’t believe in and ask him questions there are no answers to?” How could I do that? How could I pray to a god I don’t believe in and ask him questions there are no answers to?” I dare you, I double-dog dare you. In fact, when I had that question given I gave that question to a Pastor, a Georgian, black Pastor, on my ship in the Navy. He said, “I triple-dog dare you. Go ahead, try it. Just try it. Say a prayer, whatever you think a prayer is. Find a Bible, open that thing up and then read. Read a page, read a passage, read a, you know a chapter. But here’s what I asked is when you’re done, take a moment just to write down what you’ve heard and read, what questions may arise or maybe what answers you may be surprised to find.” I’m so thankful that you’ve listened to this message. I have a blog. It’s called www.possibilityme.com. It’s not much on there and I promise I’ll have a post up by tomorrow and a new post about this particularly. But I just want to acknowledge that 25 years ago, I should have died. And thanks to God and prayer and people who cared enough to lift up those prayers, here I am. Here I am because of God’s Grace and Mercy. And I’m so thankful. So you have a blessed day. You’re awesome. Let your light shine and God bless.