This morning, I read a piece about Tom Brady’s reaction to being the guest of honor at a roast where he was celebrated as the greatest quarterback to ever live. He was lauded for his good looks. He has the accolades. He has the money. However, he admitted something was missing. He said this about where he is personally after his retirement:
“Sometimes I feel like I’m a little bit in a washing machine right now, not quite sure where you’re going, what the schedule looks like. The structure, the habits, are positive for us at different times; when you don’t have that, you bounce around – you’re like a ping-pong ball, too,” he said, acknowledging he is “not really in my center right now. I feel like, naturally as a quarterback, I was in control. I loved flying the plane, being the operator. I think what you realize in life is that you’re not in control that much. What do I need to do more in my life? I need to be better with less control. I need to be better operating in that gray area. I can’t be so anxious when things aren’t going exactly the way that I want.”
I surprised myself by getting emotional reading that. I mean, I have hated Tom Brady his whole career! Why was I getting misty-eyed about that statement? Those are common feelings associated with adjusting to retirement. Then it occurred to me: I can relate! I never had Tom’s celebrity status or his money, but I know that “washing machine” feeling. I know that “ping pong ball” feeling. I know that “gray area” feeling. I had them, not at retirement, but at age 22. Those were the feelings that led me to Christ. By God’s grace, I came to realize that the busyness and pleasures of life can cover up that hungry core of our beings that longs for something more than fame, money, things, sex, and success. What I was looking for was not something else but Someone! I was looking for a spiritual relationship, not a new routine, fresh adventure, or a new cause. I was looking for the One who said, “I am the Life!” I was looking for the fullness of life. And I thank God every day that I found it in Christ.
Yes, I’m still human and I still sometimes get that “hungry-for-something” feeling; but after 46 years of life experience, I know to whom I can go to have it satisfied, and His name is Jesus.
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