A Visit from Mick

Today as I was trying to come to terms with everything that is going on around me I received a phone call from an awesome friend. During the call, he told me how I was on his mind and that he was praying for my family and I. After the call, I sat in shock at how someone more than a thousand miles away was praying for me and inspiring whole churches to pray for us as well. I was on the virtual ropes of life and here was someone cheering me back into the battle. As the night wore on I remembered Mick from the Rocky movies and how he would yell and scream at Rocky to keep him in the fight.

If you haven't seen the Rocky movies and have no idea who I am talking about, pay the 99 cents and rent the movies from the old movie racks. They are well worth it.

Mick was a retired boxer that trained Rocky and acted as his coach during his rise to greatness. What made him such a great character is that he did not give Rocky any slack but instead would push Rocky past his pain and to ultimate victory. As I laid in bed, ready to go to sleep, I remembered one of my favorite quotes from the Rocky movies, "it ain't about how hard ya hit. It's about how hard you can get it and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done!" Paul told Timothy in one of his last letters, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith" (2 Tim. 4:7). That is the legacy I want to leave. Sometimes we hit the ropes after a devastating blow and God uses these special people to push us past our circumstances to our ultimate breakthrough. In Ephesians, we are told that when we can do nothing else, stand. In a fight sometimes we just need to keep standing to win the battle. (Watch the final bout in Rocky 2)

To that special individual that acted as my Mick, thank you, you are an amazing blessing and mentor.