Loading ...Many members of the New York Giants are strong, spiritual men who often refer to the good book and specific passages each day. Among them is cornerback Terrell Thomas, who recently admitted to Inside Football's Pat Traina that following an ACL injury last season, his faith was briefly lost.
"I’ll admit that I lost my faith when I got injured. I wasn’t mad at God. But I kind of questioned Him in a way. I just couldn’t understand how, after everything I had been through in my life, why would this happen now?" Thomas told Inside Football. "I still don’t know, but He’s still teaching me, and He restored my faith and I will never lose it again. He taught me, ‘Just love Me, and work hard.’ "
Thomas acknowledged that the timing of his injury also played a role in his brief lapse in faith as he had just had Bible verse 1 Peter 5:6 -Humble yourself upon God and in due time He shall exalt you- tattooed on him.
The loss faith was temporary, however. Thomas says he's learned a lot from this experience and never plans to question Him again.
"I became a man and it taught me that I could overcome anything if I have faith and if I work at it. I’m still overcoming this injury — it’s not done at all. But this experience has definitely taught me not to lose my faith in God because He definitely has a plan for my and will always be there for me," he said.
Faith, like politics, is all a matter of personal interpretation. What Thomas' experience shows is the mental toll such a serious injury takes on a player and the stages they have to go through to return to the field; not just physically, but mentally as well. It's a unique look into the thought process of an athlete who is trying to understand "why".
To read Thomas' entire interview with Pat Traina, head on over to Inside Football.
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Wow… talk about not seeing the forest for the trees for a while. Injury or no, he was beyond blessed to be where he was, make the money he made… etc, etc. In the vein of the article, I’m glad he understands that life is like refining silver… Isaiah 48:10/Psalm 66:10
I’ve had my own crisis of faith these last couple of months, as some stuff on the homefront has really thrown me and Amanda for a loop. As some of you know, I used to run a pretty successful Catholic blog back in the day, but this stuff I’ve been dealing with has pretty much loosened any remaining bits of belief out of me. I know what TT is talking about–I’m f*cking angry at God, too. And I don’t want to hear about His “plan.” Bullsh*t to His plan–there is not plan. It’s about choices, and decisions, and consequences.
Kujo – remove your focus from yourself.
He never promises there won’t be suffering. In fact, just the opposite.
Oooops, I seem to have mistakenly stumbled upon Theology 101.
UUT
As a non-practicing Jew, the rather limited extent of my belief in God is in the nasty, vengeful Old Testament variety.
So when Thomas’s injury was swiftly followed by season-ending ones to Witherspoon, Austin, and Goff before a single meaningful game had been played, it only served to confirm my already jaundiced view of the higher power.
But sometime around Week 4 of the regular season, I came to see the Way, the Truth, and the Light.
As had my ancestors of yore, my own moment of revelation also occurred in the desert. Only this time the desert was in Arizona.
When Nicks hauled in that long TD pass to cap a comeback from a 10-point deficit, I fell to my knees and whooped “Who needs God when you have TGEM on your side.”
Thus was I born again.
So saith the norm.