
This was a special day for us. From time to time I go back and re-read particular blogs. This one spoke to me in honor of Aaron's birthday today! Aaron now works with Bret Bielema and the Arkansas Razorback football team...back in the good ol' SEC! No doubt they are blessed with his inspiration and encouragement.
Naples, Florida, 2012 NFL combine training. The recruits have a few hours to relax and three of Aaron's friends encourage him to rent a jet ski with them. Aaron declines as he wants nothing to deter from his performance testing and even more importantly, he can't swim. So Chaz and two friends don life vests and speed into the Gulf of Mexico. After a few hours, two return but Chaz (who tends to be a bit crazy according to our storyteller) decides to see how far out he can take his jet ski, basically go "wide open" on the throttle until the gas gauge reads empty. He takes off leaving his friends on the beach. Approximately 6 miles into the Gulf, beyond the scope of radar, Chaz needs to use the restroom. Rather than stay on the jet ski he elects to take a quick dip into the ocean...with the engine still running. Upon his effort to re-board the jet ski he cuts his leg and falls back into the ocean. In the struggle he loses grip of the safety key, and the jet ski escapes him. In ten seconds the jet ski is 20 yards away, within 30 seconds it has disappeared from Chaz' view. Chaz is in the ocean with a bleeding leg wound, a life vest, and a whistle-- land is invisible. His fear is not drowning but rather sharks. An hour goes by and then two and Chaz' friends report him missing to their head strength coach. The strength coach is terrified, he feels responsible for the well-being of all the young recruits, and he calls 911 to notify them of an emergency. In spite of everyone's hope that Chaz docked his jet ski in a different location the coast guard initiates a full search and rescue from the sea and sky. Within an hour of the search they happen upon the stranded jet ski in the ocean...without Chaz. The coast guard perseveres recognizing that dark is almost upon them--and once it is dark the search must be discontinued. Four hours since he ventured into the gulf, twenty minutes before dusk, 6 miles out at sea, the helicopter spots Chaz frantically waving his arms. The coast guard cutter is directed to him and they rescue a frightened, dehydrated, overwhelmed young man from the ocean.
The next day Aaron asks Chaz, (besides what were you thinking going so far out?), what thoughts occurred to him in the middle of the ocean. Chaz replied his thoughts were only prayers to God to save his life. He never thought of football, of the combine training, of potential draft teams or salary offers...that in the face of near calamity none of that stuff which seemed so important earlier in the week was of any significance. At that moment only life was of value...nothing else mattered.
We may not be stranded in the ocean but there are times in our life we all feel we are frantically waving for rescue. Aaron's grandmother who raised him from 9 years old would often say to Aaron, "He doesn't always come when you call, but He is always on time." Of course that was a perplexing statement and Aaron's body language and tone made us laugh with his confused interpretation and frequent reply of "huh Grandma?" And she would simply repeat her mantra to him. As he has grown, he is gradually understanding what Grandma meant. After numerous knee injuries his first 3 seasons on the Badgers, excruciating surgeries and rehab and even doctors telling him his knee had the strength of a 4 year old; Aaron persevered with what he described as "a firm faith" that he was following God's purpose for his life. When he was a quarterfinalist for the Lott IMPACT trophy his junior year he broke down to tears. Crying because he knew the only way he was playing was due to an intervention beyond what the doctor's believed was possible. .
The next day Aaron asks Chaz, (besides what were you thinking going so far out?), what thoughts occurred to him in the middle of the ocean. Chaz replied his thoughts were only prayers to God to save his life. He never thought of football, of the combine training, of potential draft teams or salary offers...that in the face of near calamity none of that stuff which seemed so important earlier in the week was of any significance. At that moment only life was of value...nothing else mattered.
We may not be stranded in the ocean but there are times in our life we all feel we are frantically waving for rescue. Aaron's grandmother who raised him from 9 years old would often say to Aaron, "He doesn't always come when you call, but He is always on time." Of course that was a perplexing statement and Aaron's body language and tone made us laugh with his confused interpretation and frequent reply of "huh Grandma?" And she would simply repeat her mantra to him. As he has grown, he is gradually understanding what Grandma meant. After numerous knee injuries his first 3 seasons on the Badgers, excruciating surgeries and rehab and even doctors telling him his knee had the strength of a 4 year old; Aaron persevered with what he described as "a firm faith" that he was following God's purpose for his life. When he was a quarterfinalist for the Lott IMPACT trophy his junior year he broke down to tears. Crying because he knew the only way he was playing was due to an intervention beyond what the doctor's believed was possible. .

We have a love affair in our house with the Wisconsin Badgers. The loyalty and commitment is in my husband's DNA and has been passed on to our children. Each year Ron and Trey attend the summer Family Day to meet the players, get some autographs, and just enjoy walking on the Camp Randall field. Ron follows the recruiting efforts of the UW Badgers and they were thrilled to meet Aaron Henry in 2007, a freshman from Immokalee, Florida. As a defensive corner with 24 Division 1 scholarship offers in high school he was an exceptional athlete. Aaron shared that when he received the offer from UW he told his family it was impossible that he would play for Wisconsin. He did not like the cold, couldn't imagine being in a town with so many "white folks," (Funny, I'm white and even I have a hard time being in a town with so many white folk!), and the distance from his familiar Florida was too much. Nonetheless, when he came that fall for a recruiting visit his opinions changed. This particular game against Illinois, the Badgers were behind 17-0 at the half. In the 3rd quarter they came back to tie and then Nick Toon, a fellow recruit at the time, told Aaron, "You haven't seen anything yet." When the entire stadium started to "Jump Around" Aaron was amazed by the jubilant crowd. Watching 80,000 fans of all ages "go nuts for their team" convinced Aaron Wisconsin would be his home. The Badgers of course went on to win the game as well as the commitment of a stellar athlete.

Ron and Trey attend nearly every home Badger game together. At the South Dakota game this past fall, they intentionally left the stadium as quickly as possible to beat the traffic rush. No matter their hurry, security chose to stop them and fellow fans in order to allow the Badger players to exit the stadium to the locker room. Trey was privy to first class seats as the players jostled and hustled to the tunnel. As Aaron Henry passed, Trey yelled, "Hey Aaron" and pointed at the #7 jersey he was wearing...the same number as Aaron. Aaron turned around and jogged over to Trey, took off his gloves and said "Here buddy, have my gloves." What a kind gesture in the midst of a team celebration for Aaron to recognize an 8 year old kid. Trey screamed in the phone to me on his ride home, "Aaron Henry gave me his gloves!" When I looked closely at the gloves that evening I noticed the words "Thank You" on the left glove and "AO1" on the right glove. I pondered the significance and encouraged Trey to facebook Aaron, thank him for the gloves, and ask for details about the words.
Trey's Facebook Message: "Hi Aaron I love the gloves you gave to me at the south Dakota game. my name is Trey and I love football. you are awesome I been a fan of your for years since the time i had the same jersey and I was circleing it in the air I going to hand the gloves on my wall"..."p.s. what does thank you ao1 mean?"
Aaron's Reply to Trey: "I am a believer in Jesus Christ and thank you is just telling Him thank you for giving me my ability to play in front of thousands and A.O.1 mean audience of 1.. I only play for one audience and that is Jesus Christ even though I am in front of thousands!!"
Once I "stalked" Trey's facebook I responded: "Thank you Aaron! It is so challenging to raise kids "God-centered" in a self-centered world. What a refreshing message from an outstanding athlete. Trey has been to church since the day he was born but I doubt he ever truly heard The Word until he received those gloves from you in the midst of 85,000 people. God finds us wherever we are at--He truly is ever interceding...even in the Camp Randall tunnel! I'm from Homestead, FL and an Auburn grad transplanted here to the midwest....Go Badgers. We have a pic of you holding Trey your freshman year at Family Day. Thank you for being you! Warmly, Trey's mom
And Aaron's kind reply: "Yes mam it is very challenging but keep up what you are doing, I'm sure it is an amazing job! God does find us where ever we are which is truly amazing when you sit back and think about it! Thank you for coming up from Florida and becoming a badger fan, I understand the challenge with the weather.. Lol .. I do remember that picture from my freshman year with Trey!!!
It was this series of exchanges that eventually grew to Aaron's incredible generosity to come to Slinger Middle School this past Sunday and share a riveting personal story of his life with a hundred adults and youth in attendance. He was amazing. Nearly two hours of spell-binding story-telling, his autobiography. Aaron's childhood was one of danger, drug dealers and addicts, domestic violence, and academic failure. Eventually, at his parents' insistence he moved to his grandma's house in Ft. Myers in the 3rd grade. There his grandma introduced him to the sport of football as well as a man named Jesus Christ whom Aaron initially assumed was the neighbor! As a 3rd grader he was reading at a pre-K level, essentially illiterate. His grandma started to read Dr. Seuss books to him and taught him to write. He attended church with her 5 days a week and 5 hours on Sundays! Not easy for any kid...but especially Aaron who is most comfortable in motion. Football became his passion, motivating him to excel in school in order to maintain the privilege of playing. His junior year, after a fantastic high school game, he was home at his 10pm curfew--always respectful of his grandma's rules. As he walked past his grandma's room he heard the words, "Nothing just happens....nothing just happens." His grandma always slept with her tv on and at this hour was a preacher sharing his sermon. Although Aaron already had a strong faith in God he felt God was contained in a separate place from football, from high school, from his friends. Until that moment it did not occur to him that all the experiences in his life actually had a divine purpose. Hearing those words he conceived the possibility that all his struggles, truancy, violence...as well as his athletic honors, academic improvements, his grandma's love and his mom's willingness to give up her parenting so that Aaron could have a better life...all these experiences were connected to something of eternal significance...Nothing just happens.
Aaron concluded his testimony by shedding his shirt to reveal an old white t-shirt filled with holes. Although Aaron places his faith in God there are times he tries to fill the holes, the brokenness, with things like pride, popularity, materialism, or even other people. Trying to fill these "God-sized" holes with things other than Him does not mend his heart but rather contributes to larger holes. Like me, and perhaps like you, Aaron makes mistakes every day. But the holes are repaired by God's presence and forgiveness. He has learned through the years that God's presence in football, in his relationships, in his training, in every aspect of his life brings value and significance to even the little things....like posing for a picture with a 5 year old fan on Family Day!
Aaron concluded his testimony by shedding his shirt to reveal an old white t-shirt filled with holes. Although Aaron places his faith in God there are times he tries to fill the holes, the brokenness, with things like pride, popularity, materialism, or even other people. Trying to fill these "God-sized" holes with things other than Him does not mend his heart but rather contributes to larger holes. Like me, and perhaps like you, Aaron makes mistakes every day. But the holes are repaired by God's presence and forgiveness. He has learned through the years that God's presence in football, in his relationships, in his training, in every aspect of his life brings value and significance to even the little things....like posing for a picture with a 5 year old fan on Family Day!

Ultimately, by surrounding himself with friends who encourage his spiritual growth and being gentle but generous in sharing his faith with others he continues to find methods to fill the holes with God's goodness. Aaron knows football may not be in his future, he may not be drafted in April, but as he said, that really doesn't matter. The hardships and struggles he has experienced also have contributed to his success. Nothing just happens. Aaron has discovered at a young age his confidence, his purpose, his abilities are a gift...and he is thankful....such is life.
Thank you for reading.
Thank you for reading.