An ALS Warrior

   Mr. Tim Shaw will be speaking at 7:30 tonight at East Kentwood High School in Grand Rapids, MI.  I have known Tim since he was a little kid running around Upper Peninsula Bible Camp.  That was long before he became a noted high school athlete, a Penn State linebacker, an NFL special teams star player, and an ALS warrior.  His book, Blitz Your Life, has just been released and is on sale.  He also recently returned from a trip to Israel that allowed him to both tour the Holy Land a bit but also to have a stem-cell transplant that will hopefully abate the ravages of ALS.
   Tim and each of his three brothers -- Steve, Drew, and Peter -- have grown into manhood and each does it well.  Today each one is a leader in their respective communities (Steve is the musical kid in the group and became a band instructor while both Drew and Peter are coaches).  But Tim's story is compelling in its own way.  An incredible high school athletic career led him to a Penn State University football scholarship.  But his six-year stint in the NFL was cut short when Tim noticed mysterious weakness and tingling in his right arm.  The diagnosis of ALS was soon to follow.
   What makes Tim such a compelling figure though is how he uses this situation to point toward his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  He has never wavered from this and to this day stands like a warrior on behalf of the goodness of Jesus.  If you are reading this and are not familiar with Tim's story, please stop reading this and just Google the name because some incredible stories will show up.  I say all this because I want to be like this man.  "Lord, bless Tim today.  Continue to use his life and his witness to glorify yourself through this experience, but also I pray that my life is an adequate  reflection of your love and goodness to us just as Tim's is.  Amen."
   If Tim is going to be at East Kentwood tonight, maybe I should go.