Pettway - Post #1

My father is without a doubt the man in my life who has had the biggest impact on me. I know it might seem like a copout to do my dad as my mentor but I would be lying if I said that there was anyone else who impacts me more than my father. The only other person who even comes close might be Coach Swider but most of the time I interact with him it is with the rest of the football team there and I think this blog is for more personal and one-on-one interactions.
Without a doubt all y'all have noticed how I have been rolling into class for most of the semester on a scooter because I had ankle surgery. I also had shoulder surgery in December. In broad terms, things haven't gone as I had planned over the past two years but they have gone as God planned. I shared some of this in my devotional. My father has been huge in supporting me during this process. I would be at fault if I didn't also mention my mom (who many know as the woman who could hardly take it when my shoulder would dislocate during the games the last two years), but my dad has definitely been my mentor.
Now on a more specific note, over Christmas break, having just had shoulder surgery and been informed of the need for ankle surgery immediately after, I was pretty down. The first part of A Quad was rough but I have been through that before. However, the ankle surgery in early February would result in me going to some very dark places. By the time Spring Break rolled around, I needed to be home and catch a breather. I was very honest with my dad. There have been times it doesn't seem worth it to even keep playing football after having gone through what I have. The mind becomes obsessed with the "what if's". What if it happens again? What if I can't play like I used to? When I sat down with my dad to talk about all these thoughts I was having and generally what I was going through he told me, as he has numerous times before, that he is in pain for me because he loves me but he will never claim to fully understand what I'm going through because he hasn't himself gone through it. No one knows all I've been through but me and God. He also said again how decisions can't be made when I'm in the depths of emotion and my judgement is clouded. The multiple discussions we had over Spring Break were so encouraging to me because they gave me what I needed at that time: a renewed sense of faith that God is using all this for His good and enough of a boost in my own morale to keep on through the recovery and the grind until I reach the point where I can taste being able to play again and my love for the game comes back with renewed vigor.
This entire process with my injuries has not taken place only in this semester but a large part of it has. My dad has been there for me my whole life but it seems especially through these struggles with me. He knows me so he knew what I needed over Spring Break because he knows I love the game and my team too much to just walk away.
This post is very broad I suppose but my next two will be more specific.