My wife and I flew to Green Bay this year to watch the Packers play at Lambeau Field. One of those things I've always wanted to do, and there's no time like the present.
On our flight, we were seated on the plane near a group of lovely ladies all wearing pink #80 jerseys. That reminded me of Rick Reilly's comments about the Packer who wears the #80. Donald was very good at stealing cars. You can tell that from his hands scarred from breaking out windows.
As a 7th grader, he and his brother lived in the back of a U-Haul truck with their mother and four siblings for a month. Stealing cars made them some money. And it also made Donald very fast, elusive, and tough. Until the day, the police chased young Donald as he drove a stolen car. He erratically T-boned an elderly woman's car as she was trying to back out of her driveway. Donald jumped out and started sprinting, was beating the cops by a block, when something made him circle back and check on the woman. She was fine and told him, "Go sit on my porch."
For some reason, Donald trusted her. She preserved him from the police and then looked him in the eyes and said, "Why do you do this, young man? You could be doing so much more with your life!" Her kindness changed Donald driver that day. Not in an instant but as a small seed planted in his soul. A small seed of kindness that grew over time until he began going to church, then playing organized football. He played well enough to earn a scholarship, and then was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the last round of the 1999 NFL draft. He needed that paycheck. His family needed that paycheck, so he out-hustled every competitor for a position and earned a spot on the roster, a spot he still holds 13 years later along with most Packer receiving records.
Kindness changed Donald Driver through and through. He does more appearances than any other Packer and gives every honorarium to the Donald Driver Foundation to help people in need. The car thief has become a redeemed and joyful man who does not take his career or position for granted.
On our flight, we were seated on the plane near a group of lovely ladies all wearing pink #80 jerseys. That reminded me of Rick Reilly's comments about the Packer who wears the #80. Donald was very good at stealing cars. You can tell that from his hands scarred from breaking out windows.
As a 7th grader, he and his brother lived in the back of a U-Haul truck with their mother and four siblings for a month. Stealing cars made them some money. And it also made Donald very fast, elusive, and tough. Until the day, the police chased young Donald as he drove a stolen car. He erratically T-boned an elderly woman's car as she was trying to back out of her driveway. Donald jumped out and started sprinting, was beating the cops by a block, when something made him circle back and check on the woman. She was fine and told him, "Go sit on my porch."
For some reason, Donald trusted her. She preserved him from the police and then looked him in the eyes and said, "Why do you do this, young man? You could be doing so much more with your life!" Her kindness changed Donald driver that day. Not in an instant but as a small seed planted in his soul. A small seed of kindness that grew over time until he began going to church, then playing organized football. He played well enough to earn a scholarship, and then was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the last round of the 1999 NFL draft. He needed that paycheck. His family needed that paycheck, so he out-hustled every competitor for a position and earned a spot on the roster, a spot he still holds 13 years later along with most Packer receiving records.
Kindness changed Donald Driver through and through. He does more appearances than any other Packer and gives every honorarium to the Donald Driver Foundation to help people in need. The car thief has become a redeemed and joyful man who does not take his career or position for granted.
 | About Allen Hunt Allen Hunt is a former Senior Pastor of an evangelical mega-church. He became Catholic in 2008 and now partners with Matthew Kelly to serve as the Vice-President for Strategy and Content at the Dynamic Catholic Institute. Allen is a speaker, writer, and radio host on News Talk WSB in Atlanta. He is the author of Confessions of a Mega-Church Pastor: How I Discovered the Hidden Treasures of the Catholic Church. |
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