Cam Newton and Being Fully Present
Back in 2015 I had an amazing opportunity to lead a chapel service for the Carolina Panthers. This was the year they went 15-1 in the regular season, lost the Super Bowl to Peyton Manning’s Denver Broncos, and Cam Newton won the NFL’s prestigious MVP award. It was absolutely one of the coolest moments of my career. I still get excited just thinking about it!!!
That night I tried to channel my most captivating James Earl Jones voice in my opening statement. I walked on the stage with as much confidence I could muster and exclaimed, “The question tonight, gentlemen, is not whether or not you will leave a legacy. Each and every one of us will leave a legacy. The question tonight is what kind of legacy will you leave?” I paused as these giant men looked up at me with even larger eyes. I proceeded to use King David’s final words in 2 Samuel 23 as a reminder to be fully present whether you are playing for the Super Bowl or changing a baby’s diaper. Little did I know God was going to teach me that same lesson later that week.
The talk was well received and I was hyped! I’ll never forget leaving the chapel service with my little entourage (you can’t speak for an NFL team and NOT bring a group of friends). I was walking backwards, looking at my friends, and saying something like, “Yo! Yo! Yo! Did you see what just happened?!” Just as I asked that silly question I felt like I backed into a wall. I turned around to see Cam Newton’s towering figure. And then he spoke. He said, “Excuse me.” CAM NEWTON SPOKE TO ME!
On my drive home I began to plot a career change. I knew I had found my TRUE calling. I was going to be a professional sports chaplain! I literally started googling “Sports Chaplaincy” that night. I even tried to set up a meeting with the football chaplain for the University of Washington. Admittedly, I can be a little ridiculous at times.
Just six days later I found myself having a pillow fight with a 6th grader at a middle school retreat. That’s right, in one week I went from Cam Newton to having a pillow fight with a 6th grader. What even is my life?! Seriously though, as I clobbered the adolescent with my fluffy pillow I felt a gentle but pointed word from God stir my soul. “Yes, the time you spent with the Carolina Panthers was holy and special. But so is this moment. Don’t. Miss. This. Moment.”
Many of us spend so much time waiting for our big “Cam Newton” moments that we miss out on the holiness and the beauty that is in our presence at that moment. The older I get the more I am learning that every moment is holy because God is in every moment. Yes, plan. Yes, prepare. Yes, dream. But also, be where you are. Be fully present with the barista who is making your pumpkin spiced latte. Be fully present with your friend who is having a hard day. Be fully present when you find yourself in a pillow fight with a 6th grader. God is in your midst.
I’d like to close with a prayer from Daily Prayer with the Corrymeela Community by Pádraig Ó Tuama.
They said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening scriptures to us?” Luke 24:32
Hidden Jesus,
Wandering along the way
Like a stranger,
Hidden along the way
In many stories and many faces,
May we listen to our hearts
When they burn with life
Knowing that you are speaking to us.
Because you are with us
Along the way
In the faces
Of many strangers.
Amen.
