What's your Story?

So I am watching the Home Run Derby last night with my husband. First of all, I am not a baseball person but I felt impressed to watch this with my husband while folding clothes. Then Josh Hamilton gets up to bat. This guy was on FIRE. He hit 28 homeruns in the first round!! Then my husband started telling me some of the things this guy has gone through. Let me list them for you.

1. Banned from baseball in 2004
2. Burning through $4 million dollar sign-on bonus
3. Gets addicted to drugs like meth and alcohol
4. Trys rehab 8 different times
5. Wife kicks him out of the house
6. Gets many tatoos, one of which is a picture of the devils face with flames all around it.
7. Hits an all time low
8. Enters rehab one more time
9. Makes a total change in his life including giving his life to Christ
10. Makes a mends with wife and children
11. Has an accountability partner that follows him around everywhere to keep him clean
12. Does Bible Studies with his accountability partner everyday.
13. Speaks to kids and teens all over the world about his story.
14. Gets back into baseball
15. Breaks new record in the history of Home Run Derby by hitting over 30 home runs.

Now, I know there are many athletes out there that have made a change in thier life just the same as he but for some reason this story really spoke to me, and it got me thinking.

Can God really use baseball to speak to people? Can God really take your past experiences and use them for His glory? Do we all have a past experience that we could be sharing with those around us?

The answer to all those questions above are yes. God can use anything to speak to people. God can definately free people from addictions and things that are keeping them in bondage.

So, what's your story? We all have one that we can share with others. It may not be addictions to drugs or alcohol. Maybe it's anger, or depression or money. Whatever it is God can definately free you from those things. Why does God choose to heal us from those things? Because he wants us to be another Josh Hamilton. He wants to release in us a home run hitter. HE wants us to tell others about what he has done in our lives and use to free other people from bondages. And then when we do that we are able to discover inside of us who we are and God's purpose for our life.

Josh even tells stories of how He had very demonic nightmares and how he knew that the devil was very much a part of his life. He even says that the reason he takes around an accountability partner is not because he needs to be babied but he knows that he could slip at anytime and he knows the devil is not very far away. How true that is for all of us. The devil sitting and waiting for us to slip up. Do you have someone that can keep you clean?

Just some of my thoughts. What are your thoughts about this whole thing?
You can read Josh Hamilton's story on www.sportsillustrated.cnn.com.