Fall of 1981: Shawnee Mission South (Overland Park, Kansas) Varsity Cross Country Team (from left: Craig Schultz, me, Pat Lawless, Teun Ebbers, Phil Ceceilski (sp?)
With my son Ben's high school graduation this spring, I've been thinking alot about my own high school graduation recently. Even today nearly 28 years later I can stil see it in my mind's eye...Coach Schmidt airborn, parallel to the pavement, shoulder-high, tackling cross-country team member Teun Ebbers. Fall of 1981. That first domino fell and changed alot of people's lives, including mine.
I was my son Ben's age when the Lord got a hold of me. Even though Ben shows some of the same free spirit I had when I was his age, Ben is strides ahead of me compared to where I was as a senior in high school.
I was supposed to be team captain that year; I was more like team jerk. Veryln Schmidt produced a champion-caliber program at our high school that attraced national attention yet I played a role in trying to undermine it all. My life as a high school senior was centered around ME with three primary manifestations: running, drinking friends and my girlfriend.
During the spring of 1982 my drinking caused problems; then my girlfriend and I broke up. Also the high school administration felt I played enough of a role in the collapse of the cross country team that they relieved me as captain and kicked me out of National Honors Society (who gets kicked out of National Honors Society?)
Going into high school graduation in the spring of 1982, I was a distraught young man. The things that were supposed to make me happy had all failed me. I was confused.
In 2005 Tom Petty wrote a song "Saving Grace" that unwittingly described perfectly my senior year in high school:
“And it’s hard to say, Who you are these days, But you run on anyway.
You keep running for another place, To find that saving grace…”
I was running from something in 1982 but I did not know from where or why.
A friend on the track team saw my depression and invited me to church. I declined. “I got religion,” I said, “and I got a Bible.” That was true. Every night I read my Bible. But I had no idea what it said.
Finally, because a cute girl was going, I decided to go to church too. I went to church expecting to meet my next girlfriend; instead I met someone much better.
Jesus Christ.
The speaker at the church talked about the pain of Jesus’ crucifixion and that He did it because of His love for me. The speaker’s talk was dramatic and graphic, like something from the TV show "24" or from Mel Gibson’s “The Passion.” I remember thinking, “If God loves me this much to suffer like this, then I want to get to know this God.” One of the youth workers at that church, Kyle Gillespie who still remains one of my best friends today 28 years later, clearly explained to me the Christian gospel.
On a hot summer’s night in June 1982, I gave my life to Jesus Christ. His Spirit entered my life, forgave my sins and I began a journey with Him that continues today.
Now after more than a quarter of a century Jesus is still central to me. I don't live a life of sinless perfection; I need God's grace and forgiveness every day. I have an incredible wife, awesome kids (2 in college!) and I still enjoy running and music. I even moved my family to Eastern Europe so we can tell those who don’t know Christ about Him.
Yet the very core of my life is the Creator of the Universe who limited Himself to a man’s body, took our sins, paid our death penalty and offered us forgiveness and a forever relationship with Him.
I did not merely “become religious”; I began a relationship with God Himself. I can call the Universe’s Greatest Power, Love and Judge “my Father”! What a privilege!
I was found by Truth and in Jesus I found Love. I even found my “Saving Grace.”
June 1982
Fall 1981
Fall 1981
2010: Matt and EB Jackson family, (from left) Quentin 9, Rebekah (with our dog Reagan) 13, Ben 18, Savannah 15, Liz 19
