I love to watch a lot of sports, including the traditional american leagues (NBA, NFL and MLB), but living in Brazil, sometimes it is not so easy to follow those championships. Just a few of these games are aired here.
Photo courtesy of ©iStockphoto/Kameleon007
I watched a few of the MLB final games of this season, and I was moved by the celebration the Texas Rangers players did using soda drinks instead of Champagne when they won the 2010 American League championship. The brazilian narrators explained that the change in the traditional celebration was out of respect to Josh Hamilton, who was a recovering drug and alcohol addict.
I’ve got to tell you, it was moving. The later San Francisco Giants World Series victory celebration was pale next to this one.
Then I remembered that I had bought Josh Hamilton’s biography entitled “Beyond Belief: Finding the Strength to Come Back” a couple of years before, and I had forgotten about it. By then, I really didn’t really know who he was. I saw the book on a bookstore, checked the backcover information, and since I love to read biographies, this one sounded interesting, so I bought it.
I started reading the book with no more previous information about Josh than what the narrators mentioned during the game. So I learned about the talent that he showed since early age. Then about his high school and the draft. Number one pick and a record bonus.
The son any parent would dream of, the guy any woman would want to marry. How does a perfect kid with a bright future ahead get involved with cocaine and crack?
I don’t intend to analyze how that happened, because no one knows, not even him. The fact is: the human being is flawed, and if someone thinks they are above any temptation, they are wrong.
The story Josh tells is about how anyone can fall. I admire that about him. He opened up his life to show us that even with a perfect life, anyone can destroy it. Me and you included. If we are left to our own devices, we can make bad choices and then feel trapped in a life that we built ourselves.
Then, when all seems lost, when it seems that there is no recovering, God enters the scene. Josh starts healing, body and soul. After several recovery attempts at known and respected rehab facilities, now he has Someone that gives him the strength to resist the addiction. God also worked in his family, to give them the ability to forgive Josh and be able to support him. And He even gave Josh his dream back: playing in Major League Baseball.
He said that whenever he feels the urge to consume alcohol or drugs, he focus on the following verse from the Bible, and repeats it until the urge is gone:
“Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” – James 4:7
You probably know the rest of the story, with his recovery and stellar performance in the following MLB seasons.
What moved me the most about his story are these simple facts: (1) no one is safe from falling and (2) God can pick you up, no matter how deep you’ve fell.
Thanks for sharing your story, Josh. I am sure many lives are being transformed through you.