White Dad

Every Tuesday afternoon for about the past 8 years, I play basketball with young men from the Cary community for about 2 hours. These guys are between the ages of 16 and 24. Some of the guys are in high school, some have dropped out of high school. Some have jobs, some don't. Some are black, some are white. Some are young fathers - none are married that I know of. Some of the guys smoke pot (I smell it on them) and some even come to play smelling of alcohol. Many have been in trouble with the law, a few with jail or prison time. Bottomline, I love these guys. And I try to tell them that every so often and remind them of that fact. I respect and appreciate each one of these guys and pray for their success in life and hope that one day they will know, as I do, what it is to have a new life and connection to their creator.

Anyway...this past Tuesday, as I often do, I gathered the guys together between games to inform some of the newcomers of the rules of the gym and to share a quick truth about God. After this week's little talk, one the guys, who is about 6'2", and an athletic young man, who just minutes before had blocked another guy's shot and nearly pinned it to the backboard said, "Mike is like my white dad." We laughed and moved on and another game of hoops started. I thank God that he has given me the opportunity to invest in a small way into the lives of these young men and I hope you'll say a prayer for them. God bless those guys and I hope they will respond to His amazing grace and find new life in Him.