regardless of the trials, God’s not going to let me go, and He’s not going to let you go,” Tebow said. “If there’s a lot on your plate – that’s good! It means He believes in you and He trusts you. He’s given you the strength to carry out that mission. So if you’re going through something tough, it’s okay, you’ll get through it, because God’s got your back. “That’s how I get through it, having peace, having comfort, having hope, because I know God’s never going to leave me, and He always has a plan for you, a plan for welfare and not for calamity, a plan for a future and a hope,” he said. A Life of Significance Tebow said playing football is just a little part of the many things he would like to do with his life. Among those are helping children through the Tebow Foundation and the Tebow CURE Hospital in the Philippines, the nation in which he was born. He said he wants to be an encouragement to others, just as more than 130 people were an encouragement to him moments before the banquet began. “I probably had in that line the
• “I felt like Tebow was really relating to the audience. He is such a leader. I want people to see that I love the Lord like Tim does. He showed that winning is not all that matters.” Holly Hawkins, high school sophomore basketball player at Presbyterian Christian School in Hattiesburg, MS, whose coach brought the girls’ basketball team to the event. • “The event motivated me to strive for a platform I can use to impact people for Christ,” James Boudreaux, high school senior football player.
most people I’ve taken pictures with say they were praying for me. I want to let you know I really appreciate that. You never know what that can do for someone,” he said. Tebow said loving what you do, being passionate about it, and being willing to sacrifice for it make all the difference in being successful. What is it, he asks, that you love, are passionate about and willing to sacrifice for? “How often do we give our lives to something that’s going to last forever? How often do we give our lives to something that’s eternal?” he asked. “Impacting lives. Sharing the Gospel. Sharing your faith. When we love that, when we’re passionate about that, when we’re willing to sacrifice for that – because far beyond winning games, that’s what truly matters,” Tebow said. m
• “This is our school and this is our home, so to be asked to represent it is something that is an honor not just because we have a celebrity like Tim Tebow coming to speak, but because we get to show what our school has worked toward and what we have worked toward as individuals and as a group,” Jennifer Gonzalez, UMobile junior music education major, member of Welsh Revival which performed for arriving guests. • “He has an incredible story and testimony to inspire each and every one of us.” Ember Langley, Miss UM 2013, opening the banquet in prayer. • “The frenzy for sports is not limited to our region. It’s a national frenzy. But it doesn’t matter what the venue is that brings people together. To him (Tebow), football is a pulpit. To me, a university presidency is a pulpit. Whatever it takes to spread Christ into the hearts and minds of the nation,” Dr. Mark Foley to reporter covering the event. (Reporting by Will Drake, Kayla Dutruch and Ashley Holmes)
umobile.edu 37