This week's Pep Talk: "Angels Among Us"

Many years ago, after undergraduate work at Mizzou, I moved to Dallas, Texas to work and, for a couple of reasons, leave the past behind.

Upon arriving in “Big D”, I connected with a long-time mentor Vance Morris. He and darling wife Paula lived in Sherman, Texas, about an hour north of Dallas. We met for dinner. The food and fellowship was fantastic. What transpired at evening’s end was truly transforming.

We had said our goodbyes and Coach Morris, now in his 51st year of coaching football at the collegiate and high school levels, was driving away. He suddenly slams on the brakes, jumps from the car, pops open the trunk and reaches into a duffel bag. He then hands me a torn, tattered and often-used Bible and says, “I want you to have this.”

Well, I was at a moment in life – new city, job and no social life – where, as Emerson would say, “the iron string within” encouraged me to spend time with this publication. Over the next few months, I read it from front cover to back, like a book. I discovered what an incredible book of wisdom it is.

One verse really resonated, Galatians 6:9. It says, “Never grow weary of doing good, for at the proper time you’ll reap the harvest if you just don’t give up.” Ever since embracing that belief, I’ve tried like heck to live it. I’m human and have fallen short many times but it’s a daily driving force in trying to, despite challenges, play like a champion – home, work and elsewhere.

Over the years there have been many times this truth has manifested itself. Another example just recently while reaching for my keys to gain entry into the Mile High Sports Radio studios for another day’s edition of my afternoon sports talk show. I had no keys. Earlier in the day, my radio co-host had picked me up, and I had walked off and left my house keys in a sitting area near the sidewalk in front of my home. Anybody walking the sidewalk could have grabbed those keys, walked to my front door, opened it and taken whatever they wanted, including the beloved and aging cat.

I called a neighbor and asked her to check if the keys were there or the house ransacked. A short while later, she responded: keys found and belongings secure. Apparently, I had an angel, disguised as a Federal Express employee, scoop up the keys and place them, and a package, on the front porch.

I believe the “never grow weary of doing good” philosophy manifested, at the proper time, reaping the harvest of a delivery person’s alertness and graciousness via the “law of circulation.” Never grow weary of doing good for others. Trust me, the rewards – angels among us – are worth the effort.