Chapter 38

From that point, it was a blur from the awarding of the championship trophy to the Cyclones to Ren and Isaac being named co-MVPs to the interviews with ESPN and about every broadcasting company there to finally getting to the locker room. After the boys showered and got dressed, Coach Williams asked for them to meet in his office. They approached the door and knocked. Coach waved them to come in and have a seat. “I will make this brief because I know you have family waiting for you. Just over seven months ago, I did not know much about either one of you. Isaac, I met you at a soccer exhibition, and Joe Turner met Ren at a funeral. Not your normal recruiting activities. I then was prompted to offer you both a chance to come to Iowa State. Honestly, I did not expect either of you to ever play, but you earned your way onto the starting team. I am proud of both of you for putting in the work needed to not only make the team but to make a difference. I just wanted to say thanks to both of you for confirming what I felt God was trying to tell me. Now, go enjoy time with your families,” Coach Williams said with a wave of his hand. Ren and Isaac hustled out to meet up with their families.

As they rounded the corner, they saw them standing there waiting for them. Ren noticed that his mom and dad were standing by each other and smiling toward one another. That was a strange thing to see. When Joshua and Priscilla saw them, they started running toward them and gave both of them big hugs. Priscilla blurted out, “Did you see that last play? It was amazing!” “Yes, I saw it. I was there,” Isaac reminded her with a smile. At that point, the rest of the group had made their way to the boys. Hugs and smiles ensued for several minutes. “Ren, you did not even look when you threw the last pass. How did you do that?” his dad asked. Ren explained that he had thrown that pass almost a hundred times in his dreams. The boys explained how they found out that they had each been having the same dream and how God had finally shown them the ending. Both moms openly wept, and the fathers secretly wiped tears away from their eyes also. “I have to say that God outdid Himself today,” Isaac reported. “You are so right,” Ren’s dad said in agreement. “He deserves all of the glory,” he continued. At that moment, Ren fully realized that the dreams and this journey actually were not about football at all. They were about something much more important. Thank You! Ren said to himself while he looked up to heaven. Ren looked at his mom and his dad and thought about the changes in his own life, Yes, it was not really about football, was it?