| Part of my downfall was me just being focused on me, and also my social activities - a lot of drinking, drugs and womanizing. It is kind of amazing, because I knew Christ and I knew about God and I knew about the laws of God. I had been touched by Him, and still I continued to do wrong.
The way they (Eagle teammates Reggie White, Keith Byars and Todd Bell) handled me, not after I received Christ, but once I had fallen away from Christ, was the biggest influences, because they handled me with care and love, and they knew in their hearts, even though that I didn't know, that I would come back to Christ. They just continued to pray for me. They weren't on my back. They weren't constantly harassing me, telling me I don't need to do this. They were continually praying for me and believing God would bring me back.
I cut out the drinking and the drugs. Once we do that, we just kind of overindulge in the other areas of womanizing and social activities, and I began to have problems with my wife. And we were on our way to possibly thinking about getting a divorce.
One day my wife just told me that regardless if I wanted to continue to act crazy and do what I wanted to do, then she was going to church and she was going to find God and she was going to have a relationship with Him. And I could do whatever I wanted to do.
I began to nurture my relationship with Christ and repented for all the things that I had done. God's healing process began to take place in our lives.
I just began to love God and want to be in His presence and always appreciate the relationship. Before my relationship, I was just covered by zeal. I was excited, a new Christian. But now God is starting to build maturity in me, and I had some battle scars and a story to tell.
It means absolutely nothing (the records, the contracts, the pro-bowl appearances) compared to Christ. If I could have one or the other, it would mean nothing. But the thing that I was able to walk with Christ and accomplish it, that means something to me. It means that God would even use me for His glory.
I don't try to be like everyone else, and I don't necessarily try to be different, but I know of the way God wants me to live, and my biggest testimony on this team is my life and the way I walk day to day.
I really only have hope in Christ. I don't have anything else. And see, that's what I hope, that people will realize where they are and that they have no hope without Christ. There is no way they might be able to make it. They might have successes on their job, they might have success in their career, and they might have beautiful houses and cars and nice families, but that's all superficial, because they need a relationship with Christ. That is my hope.
He is my strength. He is my backbone. He is everything that I can't be. Now I have a friend who loves me and will walk with me and talk with me and who will discipline me when I'm wrong.
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