Since I first started playing high school football, a lot has been written about me. Some true, some not so true. Some positive, some not so positive. And some of it claiming to even know my mind-set and motivation.
It’s not always the easiest thing to be the center of so much spilled ink. You read glowing things, and it doesn’t feel deserved. You read things that are critical, and it cuts you to the bone. It’s because of both those extremes of others’ opinions that I felt it the natural thing to do to tell my story, written from my perspective. It also seemed like the right thing to do—perhaps in many instances to simply set the record straight—sharing my story as I see it, as I remember it, including my actual mind-set and motivation. Sharing it all—what is true and actually happened. Some of it positive, and some perhaps, still, not so positive. That’s the nature of truth. But all of it is my story.
Through my eyes.
In addition, the sheer amount that has been written about me also seems to indicate that, for whatever reason, a great number of people have a significant interest in me. In some respects that is very flattering. I’d guess that any one of us would be flattered by that level of interest. However, my parents always told me, from an early age, that we all have the ability to influence others, whether through our words or actions, or both. They always added that, besides possessing the ability, we also have the responsibility to use it in a positive, encouraging, and uplifting way—a platform. Who knows? Maybe my platform will be the same in five years; maybe not. One thing I’m confident of is that the Lord already knows the answer to that, and He has a plan for it all. That is something I’ve learned to have the utmost assurance of and faith in—His daily, weekly, monthly, total and eternal plan for our lives.
Therefore I have learned that, though God is in control of the big picture, I am responsible for how I use my platform, whatever its size—at this moment in time—to influence others. Or whatever my age. Or wherever I am, or no matter what is going on in my life at any time. I have a platform that He can use for His good purposes and perhaps even the good of others—today.
We all know of people who thought they could do it (whatever “it” is) tomorrow. We have all procrastinated in such a way, and often to our personal regret. It happens time and again, putting off things that we convince ourselves might be better, more meaningful, more appropriate for another time. So often that better time either never comes or really isn’t better or more appropriate after all. And then, sadly, the window of opportunity—to do something great—closes. Here’s something else that I haven’t always grasped but which in the last few years I have come to understand in my own life, and which now burns in my heart for others to also recognize and realize: we all have stories to share. We all have life experiences that can bless the lives of others. Whoever we are. Wherever we find ourselves. Whatever we are involved in, no matter our age or station in life. Stories that, when shared with others, can make a positive difference in the world.
As I tell my story, I hope that you will see that its true focus is on God and on those eternal values that He holds before us as beacons and benchmarks, to help us live lives of abundance that will ultimately glorify Him, while also lifting and bettering the lives of His children everywhere.
What it all boils down to is that if there’s one kid who keeps pushing to attain his dreams, or…
if there’s one dad who accepts the saving grace of Christ and changes his whole family, or…
if there’s one person who sees my mistakes, realizes that we all fall short, and keeps pressing on, or…
if there’s someone who agrees that Christians don’t have to be weak, either in mind, body, or soul, then undertaking this project was the right thing to do, regardless of what the world thinks is the “right time” to write a memoir.
God challenges us to change the world. And to accomplish this, He asks us to change it one life at a time.
I appreciate that you are taking this journey alongside me, and I pray that as we take this journey together, you will feel the Lord’s presence along the way and that you will let Him cover you with His grace and power.
I also pray that in this journey you and I may discover that not only our lives but the lives of others are better because they were touched by something we have shared together.
Through my eyes.
Excerpted from Through My Eyes by Tim Tebow, with Nathan Whitaker. Copyright © 2011 by Timothy R. Tebow. Used with permission of HarperOne, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers.
