WHOLEHEARTED

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It is no coincidence that it's Super Bowl week.

This particular story began for me on January 1st, 2024. My buddy Brian started a group text with a handful of friends and teammates from our high school football team with a "Happy New Year." Included in the group was a phone number I did not recognize. I asked, and my fullback, Rich, replied. Later in the day, we spoke on the phone for some time, and I was hooked.

Rich shared a simple but powerful story that began for him and his son, Jonathan, back in 2014. Jonathan decided he wanted to play high school football. Sounds good to me—but there was a bit of a hiccup. Jonathan was 5'7" and 150 pounds, with limited athleticism and literally no knowledge of how the game was played. But in pursuit of his goal to attend the Air Force Academy, he did not waver. Jonathan had all the academic requirements covered, but the ultimate challenge was revealed when Dad had him look into the physical requirements. He would need to run a 6:30 mile and improve upon his time of 10:54 considerably. He would also need to do 61 push-ups, of which he could do two—and he would also need to do 12 pull-ups, of which he could do none. Okay, that goal is now clear, but remember… Jonathan had zero football IQ and had to learn how the game was played.

Rich drew from one of his son's strengths to help explain. You see, Jonathan was a WWII history buff, so Dad used one of his son's favorite WWII board games and taught him the basic concepts of how the offensive goal was to break down the defense and capture chunks of yardage on their way to the end zone. Seems simple enough, yes? Yes, indeed, another one of those "simple but not easy" moments; but at least they had a plan of attack to achieve Jonathan's goal of playing football and to condition his body to pass the AF fitness test. So, after joining the team with the desire to be a tight end, Jonathan faced another setback as he was "not fast enough" to play the position. So they put him on the offensive line where the real battles are won or lost. Okay, great, he was up for the challenge but still needed to learn how to be an o-lineman. And to make things even more difficult, the coaches weren't able to give him the proper guidance he needed to set him up for survival, let alone success.

Here's where it gets even better. Rich now realized he would need to become even more involved and committed to the journey if they were to achieve success. So, Dad sought options on how to launch Jonathan into a credible program that would allow him to excel in the trenches. By God's grace, with another fantastic storyline, Rich found the football camp of Jesse Sapolu.

Jesse was an undersized offensive lineman from the University of Hawaii at 6'4" and 278 pounds. He went to the San Francisco 49ers in the 11th round with the 289th pick of the 1983 NFL draft. Jesse, being undersized for the position, realized he had to focus on and perfect his technique if he was going to succeed at the highest level. With a "wholehearted" approach, Jesse figured out a proven way to beat bigger and stronger opponents, and in his 15-year career with the 9ers, he did succeed. He became a two-time pro bowler and a four-time Super Bowl champ. Jesse later formed Men In The Trenches (MITT), the camp Jonathan attended to develop his skills. Jonathan's first day was him, three other kids, and Rich. Jonathan was hooked and began his "wholehearted" journey to become an offensive lineman.

At the same time, it appeared that Dad was also hooked. Rich took the same wholehearted approach, and for three years, he filmed Jesse and his techniques at camp. So, with lots of film analysis and weekend execution with Jonathan, they "put in work." While Jonathan honed his skills, Rich also hard launched a path to becoming a coach who took a passionate desire to share this formula with the men and kids in the trenches. And so, a very successful coaching career was born. Rich coached o-linemen from ground zero in high school. As Jonathan's journey to the varsity squad continued with success, Dad was able to help multiple kids move on to Division 1 college football. I could go on and on with the details of sacrifice and commitment this father-son duo went through, but you get the idea. This success story is only possible with a "wholehearted" approach and unwavering faith!

I hope you enjoyed the story that leads us to the message. But first, a huge thank you to Rich and Jonathan for entrusting me to share their fantastic journey.

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As usual, I'm at a place where I have no specific idea or direction for the remainder of this article. It's February 2nd, and I just awoke from my daily nap. And just like that, a proverbial tragedy hit. Dun, dun, dun! The internet went out! So, while my son was down here, I gave him a hand-sized book called "The Power of Prayer" by E. M. Bounds. While checking my copy out, he lost my placemark. After randomly opening it, I was met with Psalms 119:2. "Blessed are those who keep his statutes and seek Him with all their heart," or as E. M. Bounds puts it, "It is an intense and profound business that deals with God and His plans and purposes, and it takes wholehearted people to do it."

There is a considerable need to focus on being "wholehearted." Jonathan's story fully encapsulates this through football, a sport I love and understand for its commitment to sacrifice for success. Without success in the team's foundation, there is zero chance for any hope of victory. That strong foundation is the men in the trenches, like Jonathan.

There are several reasons I chose this story. With the state of worldly division right now, it is obvious to me there is a huge need for us all to focus on being wholeheartedly committed to the one true everlasting foundation that will never fail… God.

Please take a moment to reflect on the things in life you have achieved that were seemingly unachievable. I'm sure there are many. Now, apply this "wholehearted" passion to the Lord. He wants you to achieve so very, very much and enjoy life to the fullest, but not at His expense. I like how Matthew puts it in chapter 6:24: "No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money." There's a boatload of scripture we can dive into, but all God asks is to let your heart be loyal to Him. This choice is yours and yours alone. All I can do is share my journey and how a divided heart is a recipe for disaster. It took decades of living with a divided heart until I finally realized that it's not okay to be partially committed to everything and totally committed to nothing. It was on 9/19/18 when I wholeheartedly committed myself to Christ Jesus and discovered true joy.

I completely understand why people are scared to commit. It ain't easy, and it requires complete surrender and faith. Words will never be able to explain the feeling of true joy. All I know for sure is that it's the best investment you will ever make. I also know it requires "true strength" to "put in work" and that "true strength" is in the heart, a heart committed to God.

Just as Rich was alongside his son Jonathan throughout his journey, with unwavering commitment, so too is our Father in Heaven alongside us all forever and ever with unwavering mercy and grace. Please always remember and never forget that with God's love, we don't have to do anything to earn it—He freely gives it to us.

Until next time,

Much love and be blessable,

Larry