Usually, Saturday morning is filled with getting a bike ride in or a run in and just relax after a hectic week at work. Well, it is a hectic weekend at work and I went in for just a few hours this morning. Not the greatest thing to do, but necessary.
As I am driving in, I am listening to 101 ESPN Sports Radio. They are playing a taped interview from 
Jeremy Schaap, a reporter for ESPN from a few weeks ago. He is interviewing a man named Yuri Foreman, a boxer who was born in Belarus and lives in the United States now. He is also a Jewish man who is studying to become an ordained Rabi within the next few years.
I thought that was a pretty unusual combination; however, listening to him the interview, I really wanted to learn more about him. He is from Belarus, grew up in Jerusalem and at the age of 19, moved to New York to pursue his boxing career.
Before he left Jerusalem, he visited a sacred wall to many religions, especially Judaism. It is called the Western Wall. It may also be referred to as the Wailing Wall or the ear of God. It is a spot you can write your prayers or just mediate to Him and give your prayers up to the Almighty. He wrote on the wall that he would like to be a champion someday.
That prayer came to fruition last year when he won the Lightweight title. He is going to be defending his crown this Saturday at the new Yankee Stadium.
At the end of the interview he was asked by Mr. Schaap, “If you were to go back to the wall today, what would you write on it now that you are a champion?” He answered, “Oh wow, I do not know. Probably, I would just write thank you.”
Wow! That hit me like a ton of bricks. How often do we thank God? I know a lot of us sing praise and worship in our cars or at church; but, how often do we sit there and simply say thank you to Him? Usually, it is asking Him to get us through the day or to get through a situation. When it goes the way WE want it to, we may toss some praise His way. But if it goes wrong, what do we do? It reminds me of the movie Facing the Giants and the quote, “Praise Him when we win, Praise Him when we lose.”
I knew there was a reason I was heading to work today. We had a big group eating a lot of breakfast; however, there was another reason to go in there today. I got to be reminded to make sure I thank God for all that I have been blessed. So thank you God for my wife, my son, my family, my friends, my job, and most importantly, thank you for YOU and sending your son to die for me so that I may live in YOUR kingdom.
Oh, and thanks for letting me get to work today. Great reminder God!
For the full video story, which is different than the radio interview today, click here: ESPN Jeremy Schaap with Yuri Foreman.
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