Larry, at only 13 years old, impacted my life.

At the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, we have a tradition that has occurred at every camp for more than 55 years. On the last night, we have open mic session when athletes come forward and share how camp has impacted their lives. It is always the highlight of the entire week of camp.

I will never forget an FCA Leadership Camp I was directing several years ago when Larry got up to share at the open mic night. After a terrific week of training middle school and high school students on how to impact their campus for Christ, it was now time to hear how God had worked in their hearts towards leadership. Service projects, leadership workshops, hands-on training, inspiring speakers and powerful worship had marked the week.

Former Heisman trophy winner Ricky Williams pulled the plug on his football career at age 27 after only five years in the NFL. Williams failed a drug test for the third time, at which it becomes public knowledge, and he said he couldn't deal with people knowing he smokes marijuana. So he went to Australia and lived in a tent community. "In my tent, I had about 30 books. And every morning, I'd wake up at about 5 a.m., and I'd take my flashlight and read for a couple of hours," said Williams. "Everything from nutrition to Buddhism to Jesus, to try to figure out, you know, what am I? What am I? So, I just kept reading and reading. And couldn't figure out what I was. But I learned a lot."

I play fantasy football with my friends. Although it’s not technically a sport, it is fun. Recently, a person offered to trade me two of his players for one of mine. His players were good, but I didn’t see them as great, so I battled about this trade, I looked at player stats, future projections and schedules to analyze this trade. In the end, I didn’t make it. Why? Because I was afraid! I was afraid that the players were not going to be as good as the one I had and that the two players would let me down. I had fear that my team wouldn’t be as good, and that if I traded that player I would lose the championship.

The next week the players he offered me scored a combined 40 points. My player scored 7. In hindsight it would have been a good trade.