I don't hold high expectations for many celebrities or athletes these days. It seems like every time you turn around one is getting arrested, divorced, or caught up in some scandal as a direct result of their status, not to mention, how they speak, act, or simply carry themselves. I know they're just people like me and you, but it seems like the moment the cameras start rolling, the rules stop applying. That right there is the reason I admire Tim Tebow and was stoked that he was coming to be our special guest at this past month's fundraiser. I admired him because no one has been ridiculed more and yet he has not only held fast to a life of taking the high road, but done it with a smile on his face. But how would he really be I thought? How's he going to act when it's not ESPN he's in front of, but just a simple guy from Mississippi trying prepare some youngster for this battlefield we call Life.
I'm not a negative person by any means, but Tim Tebow absolutely blew me away from the first hand-shake. I cannot tell you enough about the genuineness, humility, love, and joy that just jumped out of his words the entire time I was around him. From the personal conversations to the meet and greet, there was not a single person he wasn't excited to see. But you would expect that part, at least hope someone would be happy to see fans that paid money to come see him. Where he went beyond himself in my book were two distinct places: the stage and to our mission.
As we sat and talked backstage about the night, I wanted to make sure I knew any particular do's and don'ts he had, as well as the starter and finisher for the time on stage. With a Q&A format, we were going to bounce around all sorts of topics and really just go with the flow of the atmosphere. I wasn't ready for how sincere he treated the opportunity to speak in front of a few thousand people, knowing many there could use a word that could send them in the right direction. He wowed people with his humor about life as a college athlete in the south, but more importantly, he pierced hearts and minds with the sincerity of his words towards football being just a game.
He summed up any and everything we need to know about him when he answered "How do you want people to remember you in 50 years as they tell their grandkids about you?" His reply was "Man I sure hope they don't use the word football." A humbling reminder from a giant in America's favorite sport that life is about more, in his words, "It's all about living to love God and love people." To see and hear the passion in his voice lets you know he was serious and sincere with those words.
So that was one area, on stage, he let us all see into his life very personally. The second area he showed me he was the "real" deal was towards our mission. Tim changed up how the event was going to conclude and said he wanted to help deliver an ending that would 'jump start' some people's lives. Little did I know that this meant he was going to raise $50,000 dollars for us at the end of the program, $10,000 of which he committed to donating himself. I cannot tell you the amount of people that have come up to me since then and are still in Awe of that moment. It is something I firmly believe will be told by hundreds of people for a long time. Not for the money, but for the boldness of the act.
But it doesn't stop there, I was told by his agent and executive director of the Tim Tebow Foundation that I really had an impact and motivated "Timmy" to do more. I thanked them, with some doubts to the truthfulness of their comments, but two weeks later I accepted them as fact when Tim invited us as his guests to an event in Monroe with the guys from Duck Dynasty.
Beyond the invitation and the first-class treatment, I saw Tim's genuiness towards The CJ Stewart Foundation when he introduced us to Jase & Missy Robertson as "The folks I was telling you about." Before I could say a word, Jase thanked me for my service and said it is awesome what you're doing now. Missy said, "Hey Danielle, it's nice to meet you." Taken back, I eventually processed this as Tim doing what he said he would do, not out of obligation, but out of sincere desire to help.
I'm not sure if I'm more encouraged, humbled, or motivated through these last few weeks. I'm extremely encouraged in the fact that MEN I admire have boosted our spirits around the Foundation with some Godly encouragement. I'm humbled in the fact that a guy like Tim Tebow, with all of the opportunities in the world, has said he's on our team. But I think it's the motivation that I feel the most. Motivation, that with each and every experience and endeavor we have as a ministry, God is doing things beyond our imagination. This reminds me that I'm the weak link of this operation. That is something I needed to get my internal flame blazing, so that we are ready for whatever God has next and hopefully we can keep up with Him.
I got to ask Tim Tebow a lot of questions, and that experience changed my life in some ways, not because of hanging around him, or even what he said, but because I got to see his sincerity and genuiness for Life. The life that God gave him, he is using in mighty ways and I am 100% confident that he'd agree with me when I say to you, "God wants to do the same in your life- are you preparing for it or preventing it?"
