FCA TESTIMONY
Philippians 1:6
“being confident in this, that He who began a good work in us will bring it to completion”
I’m going to take a few minutes to attempt to depict to you the good work God has done in my life and in the life of my team through basketball. My freshman and sophomore year at the College were very similar. I came into a team that had a variety of issues that prevented us from reaching our potential on and off the court. Personally, I came to college young in faith, and as one who compartmentalized my life. God was extremely important to me and I had tasted and seen His goodness, but he was just one part of my life, and not the Lord over ALL of my life. I saw basketball as simply a game, having nothing to do with the Lord. I had no confidence in my team, nor did I think the Lord cared to use our team for any reason.
Junior Year was a pivotal year both for our team and for me individually. Before the beginning of our season the book of Haggai was laid on the heart of one of our coaches concerning our team. The central message revolved around Haggai 2:9
"The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,' says the LORD Almighty."
We believed it to be referring to the high level of success the program once had and that God was going to restore us to that level. We lost our first 6 games that season. Nonetheless, we had to believe He would be true to his word despite us losing.
{5 Now this is what the LORD Almighty says: "Give careful thought to your ways. 6 You have planted much, but have harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it." 7 This is what the LORD Almighty says: "Give careful thought to your ways.} Haggai 1:5-7
At this point God is turning the soil in my heart. I become convicted that in fact we were not giving careful thought to our ways, but that if we did God would bless us. The words come alive to me and I believe beyond a shadow of a doubt that God is going to fulfill this scripture within our team.
After being picked to finish last in preseason polls, at the end of the regular season we were in to top half of the conference. During the tournament, we made our first semi-final appearance.
For the first time since being on the team I felt a since of pride in the direction our team had taken. I gained confidence in the Lord and had fellowship in teammates and coaches. I felt so blessed to be on a team where God was a priority.
Senior Year
This past senior season felt like a continuation of the one before it. We hit the ground running starting off with a 5-1 record losing only to nationally ranked Florida State by 13 points. God was in control from the start and at the head of our team. We gained support from the community at games during the inaugural season in the Carolina First Arena. We were blessed with guest speakers at team devotions who inspired us. Each individual speaker had a part in supplying a specific message for the team, and it was evident that God had sent him or her at the RIGHT time with the RIGHT message. God grew in us individually and collectively, resulting in a common mentality. We gained confidence in what He was doing in our team and within ourselves. This year in the tournament we defeated Davidson and long time rival and previously dominant UTC (at their place I might add!) , before falling to Western Carolina in a triple over time performance in the championship game.
Freshman Year 11-17
Senior Year 23-8
