Who is Your Champion?

In 2010 I was taking courses in a program made for working adults. One night a week for five weeks and then it was on to the next class. Program was great. I loved it. The courses were simple and I was glad to be apart of it. But realistically, I was breezing through it; going through the motions believing that at the end of it all, that piece of paper would make all of the difference in the world. As I write that, I almost feel stupid, not from an intelligence standpoint but from a belief that I had to get in to the hamster wheel if I wanted to find any "success". I was simply doing what I was told and following the sheep.

It's ironic, we put our children through this same cycle with public education - go to school, go to college, get the job, meet the girl, buy the house, have the family and then hope to retire at a decent time with enough money and health to then start to do the things you want to do. But then wonder why our kids don't have it figured out, why they're unhappy, why depression is on the rise, why suicide is on the rise, why our marriages are CRUMBLING and why our society as a whole has, seemingly, lost the plot.

But I digress.

The most valuable night in that program was one that caught me COMPLETELY off guard. This is seems to be the protocol for most "big" things in our lives, right? Unexpected and from the most uncanny of places, people or situation. I was in a marketing class and for me, that class was one I was enjoying the most. It meant being personable, creative, informational and required speaking to a group. I looked forward to going each night because the professor was also a man that knew how to lead, he knew how to instruct and provided passion to a subject that, most people, would have a hard time being excited about.

I was killing it.

We had presentations each week and I smoked em. I was confident, I was funny, I was charming, I was entertainment personified. Or so I thought.

Then one night changed everything.

The class finished after a round of presentations. I had already done mine so I was just there observing the others, probably feeling pretty good about some imaginary bar I had set in my idiotic head. As Professor R (as I'll call him) was wrapping up and congratulating those members of the class that had done their part, he then, in front of the class, asked me to stay after.

"Probably wanting to know if I would give some pointers on how to be more engaging..."

"Need a little assistance in pulling out the talent in these folks, eh Professor R?"

"Yes, I'll teach the class next week.... Fine."

Thoughts that went through my arrogant brain in anticipation to a conversation that I had NO IDEA that was coming.

I stood at my table, waiting for my other classmates to filter out and Pro R continued to pack up his things and say his goodbyes for the evening, I made my way to the front. As the last person made their way out, he stopped packing his things....

"Why are you here?"

He looked at me, stone cold, dead in the eyes unrelenting and refusing to remove them from me. I could feel his gaze piercing through me.

"Why am I here....? Like, in this class? In this small ass town at such an over priced school? On earth? What do you mean?"

I was completely thrown off. I hadn't a clue what he was getting at and it must have shown through my nervous energy that had suddenly poured it's way to the top of my being. He continued to gaze through me and asked again...

"Why are you here, Justin?"

All of a sudden I couldn't help but feel as though I had done something wrong. I felt guilt and almost shame. Here I was thinking I was doing extremely well, I was enjoying myself in this class and had actually started to believe that maybe there WAS a point for me being in this small ass town at this over priced school and now, now, good ole Professor R, whom I thought I had a rapport with comes and TEARS IT ALL DOWN.

With one, stinging, sharp, poignant question; shattered it into a bazillion pieces at my feet. I finally found the ability to speak; I am still not sure how long I must have been standing there completely silent, fidgeting in the discomfort of not understanding what he was asking me. My vocal chords finally engaged;

"I don't understand what you're asking me?"

His gaze changed. His face changed. It went from stern to less stern but mixed in some, what seemed like, compassion. I think he realized I wasn't as smart as I presented on the exterior.

"I know you don't. I knew you wouldn't when I asked you the question. Why are you here? Justin, this class isn't for you. This program isn't for you. This SCHOOL isn't for you."

WOAAAHHHHHH! Woah, woah and more WOAH, sir! Pump these dang breaks and let's go ahead and do some good ole fashion back peddling. You're a professor at this school, at this university that probably pays you fairly well for teaching this course (I can only imagine he is paid well given the amount of tuition this particular school charges. Over price, under deliver)

I'm pretty positive this ombre shouldn't be speaking to me like this. Isn't it funny, in that moment of real connection, real humanity my go to was pride? My defense mechanism was to take the stance of, "don't you know who you're talking to???". I went defensive because he had taken me out of my comfort zone and it triggered me in the challenge of it. Not because of the words, but because the question was right. The question was like a heat seeking missile and locked on like there was no tomorrow, sent straight for my tail end from Maverick HIMSELF. "Help me Tom Cruise...." Was all I could think as I stood, baffled and befuddled.

"Honestly, sir, I don't know why I'm here. Because I have to be?"

Humility sets in and it can be unsettling at first. It can be very uncomfortable because it's vulnerable. But that humility is how we remove the layers to the truth. Humility with the right cocktail of vulnerability is how we answer some of our deepest, darkest, most REAL questions to our very souls.

Professor R went on - his question and his direction wasn't one meant to demean me or belittle me. It was of genuine compare and understanding. Honestly, when I look back on it now, I'm so thankful for this mans brilliance. We'd only been together for about 3 weeks at that point and he had already figured me out. He already came to understand what made me tick - not with my peers, but in my very soul.

The conversation with that man, that night was one that changed my life. It changed it in its simplicity and humanity. It changed me in its charge for awakening. See he went on to tell me WHY he didn't believe I was meant for that program and for that university. He explained to me his story, shared with me the moment that changed his life as well. The stepping stones that got him from where he was going to where landed in that present moment; standing in front of my ignorant butt, confused and following the herd, lost and empty.

"I don't know why I'm here..."

I'll share what the got to.....

"Take the first step. That's it. That's all. Take that first step."

See, so many of us get bogged down when we start to think about what we want to do or who we could be. We see step 7,979 and have ZERO idea on how to achieve that step. Why? Because we haven't even begun to figure out how to put our shoes on. We haven't even begun to figure out who we get to step one. Take the first step.

That night in that small class room, Professor R was a champion for me and my life. He gave me something that, up until that point, I was missing; the simple belief that I could be the champion of MY OWN LIFE. By making me question why I was there, what I was doing and what my REASONS were for doing it, well, friends, he made me realize I wasn't living for me. He reminded me that I was following the masses and into line and conforming like Neo prior to the Red pill.

You might not know where you want to be. You might have forgotten what it was that you find passion in. You might be terrified on letting others see that thing you are on fire for because you feel there is a perception of you that doesn't match that gift and calling.

This could be your first step.

See...

Jeremiah 29:11 says this, "For I know the plans I have for you. Declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future."

There is a greater purpose for you. There is a NEED and a VALUE for YOU. Only you. It is precise and its uniquely meant to fit YOU. I know this because God has said this. But you have to understand; it is not just ordained but it is qualified. We have to work for it. We have to strive for it. WE HAVE TO DO OUR PART AND TAKE THAT FIRST STEP.

2 Peter 3:9 lets us know something fairly clearly - God's google calendar AINT in line with our damn google calendar. They aren't synced up ladies and gents. That's just now how He does things.

"The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. Instead He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance."

We all come to that crossroad. You might not be where you want to be right now, but when we realize we have a value beyond measure we can then start to believe WE CAN CHAMPION our own lives. You know the whole, "If God is with me then who can be against me..." thing? Kind of a big deal. Kind of cool, right?

You don't have to wait. You don't have to live this way anymore. I can tell you that night with Professor R changed the course of my life.

I went on to finish my Associates degree in that program. I am glad that I did. Because that experience, that conversation saved me. See, not long after that, I was faced with one of THE BIGGEST DECISIONS in my life and had I not been confronted with my own stagnicity, had I not been reminded that God had a plan for me and that I could champion my own path - it would have passed me by.

Take the first step. God is waiting. Your life is waiting.

Navigate Intentionally.

Justin Copeland