Promise Kept (Perry Skky Jr.) (12 page)

You haven’t given up on me. I know I take You through it giving You the praise and then doing stupid stuff, but Your Holy Spirit lives deep inside my soul. Some way, some how, I always find my way back to You. I appreciate this ability You have given me to dominate in athletics but show me what You want me to do with it. I’m tired of being blind doing it my way; Lead me, please?

As soon as I got up my teammates mauled me. The pile was so deep you would have thought it was the real game and we had just won the Super Bowl. Once we were all up Markus, the defensive lineman, a fifth-year senior, came up to me and said, “You are definitely the man, Perry Skky Jr. You are definitely the man. Let’s do something tonight, man. What we gon’ do?”

“Yeah, let’s have a party,” Saxon said as he came over to us. Both of them knew I wasn’t feeling it. Saxon turned to Markus and said, “I’m throwing the bash.”

Later on that night while I was relaxing in my room, Deuce came in and said, “You going over next door or what?”

“Man, there ain’t nothing going on across the hall that either one of us needs to be a part of. There is going to be a bunch of alcohol, a bunch of females.”

“Come on, man.”

“There’s nothing but trouble over there, right.”

“Come on, we can pop our heads in for a second—dang, can Christians celebrate?”

I couldn’t believe he was asking me that question. It wasn’t a week ago that he was in my ear encouraging me to do the right thing and put God at the forefront of it all. Quicker than the blink of an eye he had switched. I had jeans on and a T-shirt. He threw my shoes at me and motioned for me to follow him. As soon as I walked into Saxon’s, the smoke from something other than a cigarette consumed me.

“So this is what you wanted to be a part of?” I said sarcastically to Deuce.

“You ain’t kidding, half these dudes in here look like they on something.”

“Look like?” I said to him. “Let’s be truthful now.”

When we walked into the room a little bit more I was somewhat relieved because most of the guys were not our teammates. It was a room full of brothers and a bunch of honeys but some of the guys looked unfamiliar. Then the more and more I stared at them I knew ’em. I wasn’t trying to be overtly rude or nothing but this one guy I recognized. I had seen him before, and it was like my mind was playing tricks on me, seeing flashes of something horrific. I remembered seeing that dude that Mario shot down, and another car drive-by that scared the heck out of both of us. T-Money’s crew was up in Saxon’s place! They had admitted that they were excited that their leader was gone. The illegal drugs that Mario was a part of were now right across from where I lived and they brought that mess up here. I wished I had a siren and could scare them all into thinking that the cops were on their way, but I didn’t have the balls to say that that stuff was messing their lives up. The guy with the dreads that I kept looking at walked over to me with an angry face like,
You got a problem with me?
My arms were folded and I didn’t flinch.

“Mario told us to meet him here. He said the party was here and we got invited. It wasn’t like we bust up in here or nothing. You looking at us like only the college dudes can be enjoying the honeys. We don’t sell no more.”

This was my chance to be used by God, to stand up for what was right, when the guy pushed me back a bit, wanting a response from me. He snapped his fingers in the air and his crew gathered round.

Deuce said, “Hold up now.” As the football players gathered behind me, I wondered how I was going to play this out now that I had the attention of everyone in the room. Could I keep my promise to God now that He had put me on a stage to make a change? Could I reach down deep and give them all a dose of reality? Drugs, booze, promiscuity. They’d all be headed straight to Hell if they wouldn’t stop circling the wagons.

T
he dude took the joint out of his mouth and then shoved me again. I knew everyone was staring at us intensely. I knew my football teammates had my back. Quite honestly, looking at the crew’s scrawny out-of-shape tails I knew we could beat them, but I didn’t know if they were packing a piece, and for me the last thing I wanted was for violence to erupt. I put my hand firmly on his chest and said, “Man, get back.”

“Straw, man, you gon’ let him handle you like that?” someone said.

We knew his name on the crew finally.

Markus, my boy on the team, said, “Shoot man, he the straw, we the bricks. Y’all don’t want no piece of us.”

I turned to him and said, “Man, I got this for real.”

Somebody yelled from the back, “Fight in the house!”

“No, no. It ain’t gon’ be no fighting.”

Markus leaned into me and said, “Man, please don’t preach. They need a beatdown.”

“Like yo’ fat short self is going to do something to somebody,” Straw said to Markus.

“Oh, Perry, man, move out the way, I got this.”

“Okay, hold up man! Hold up. I just want to say something and then y’all can do whatever y’all want to do.” Looking around at all the angry faces I prayed,
Lord, I want to tell all these angry brothers about You. Give me the words to say. I need the words that won’t back down, for all of those in front of me, help me be like Joshua and knock it down.

“What’s up? You wanted our attention,” Straw said, stepping up in my face again. “What you got to say?”

“There’s more to this life than living and dying. We care about our honor and no one wants to get punked, and you already saw one of your own die in front of your face. Being on this earth is not all that it’s about and sooner or later we all are going to die. Yeah, it may seem like we’re tough; smoking weed, drinking, getting high, banging girls, slinging cash. All that may give you a quick rush, even being a football player and being on that field might give you a rush,” I said as I turned around and looked at my teammates. “Maybe a spot on the team is what you’re seeking, but nothing can satisfy you like the love of God.”

“Ha! Whatever, man, ain’t nobody trying to hear that,” Straw said as he turned around, but I dashed in front of him and made him look me in the eye.

“If you died tomorrow, Straw, can you honestly say you will be with God or do you think you will burn in Hell? You think having no money and no honeys is a horrible way to exist? Try darkness and damnation.”

“Whatever man, God can’t do nothing with me. So I ain’t trying to hang out with Him.”

“That’s just the thing, God doesn’t condemn. He doesn’t even care about your past. Actually, if you read the Bible, the more screwed up your life is the happier He is to change it.”

“Why you love Him so much?” Markus came over and asked. “You Perry Skky, for real you got it going on without Him.”

“Naw, bro let’s get it right. I am who I am because of Him. Any day He can take away my athletic ability. I could be in a car accident and my mind could get screwed.” I hit my chest. “But, what’s on the inside though? What’s in my heart is what saves me and what gives me life. I knew He didn’t just send me here to play ball. Yeah, it’s a gift. I like it, it’s cool, but I want to be able to talk to that dude to tell him about the Lord so he wouldn’t be thinking that I was just—”

“Man, I ain’t ready for a church service,” some of Straw’s boys said. They got their brown paper bag and headed to the door. “Straw, you coming?”

The door opened from the other side. It was Mario. He said, “Man, where y’all going?”

I quickly went over to Mario and said, “How you gon’ invite them here bringing all of this crap?”

“Man, what are you talking about?” he said, clearly having no clue as to what I was talking about. I pointed to the joint on the floor.

“Wait, wait, wait! Who brought all of this in here? Aw, Straw, come on, man. I told you I wanted you to come and hang out with my boys at Tech, not bring stuff to get them in trouble. If you had to bring that then you shouldn’t have came, man, dang. I know I’m late, but I’m holding down a little pizza job, but it’s a good thing because I got food. Naw, man, I didn’t want you to bring all of that around my boys. They could end up losing their scholarships.”

“It’s not your place though,” Saxon said, entering into our conversation.

“Do you really want all of this in here?” I looked at him boldly and asked, “Did you hear anything that I have said, do you care about your life for real? I mean you were almost out of here lying in the hospital, technically dead. Now that you’re back and with us you want to throw all of that away?”

Saxon just looked at me. We had never talked about his experience being in a coma; but obviously it was one that had shaken him up a bit. So, I wanted everybody in the room to grab each other’s hands and say “I Love God,” but I knew realistically that just wasn’t going to happen.

Deuce then came up behind me and said, “I have never been the same since the Lord came into my soul. I ain’t never had no daddy and since He and I have been tight I ain’t wanted for nothing. All I have to do is get on my knees and pray and before I get up it’s like He provides peace. Even when I didn’t think I could quit hitting the bottle He gave me a way out. Listen to Perry y’all. What he’s saying is real. You ain’t tried God for yourself.” He just shook his head and walked off.

So I jumped back in and said, “Y’all ain’t trying to free yourselves? What you got to lose in trying?” I turned around and walked out after Deuce. I felt good that they had heard the Gospel. I had to let God do what He was going to do with them.

“You know my dad’s an atheist?” Collin said to me as we worked out in the gym. The weights slid out from under my hands and the 400-pound bar hit my chest.

“Hey man, you alright?” Collin said as he pulled up the bar to help me from crushing my abs. I sat up and grabbed a drink of my water. “You heard what I said, right?”

“Yeah, I heard you. Man, I know that’s got to be tough having a dad with that view. But what about you?” I asked, shooting straight to the point. “You think there is a God?”

I liked Mr. Cox a lot, and though we never talked about our faith, I didn’t perceive him to be someone who didn’t believe in God. He didn’t look like, act like, talk like any of that.

“Lance and I have been talking about this a lot,” Collin admitted as he sat on the other side of the bench press. “See, when you know a lot of men who go to church and they are sleeping around on their wives, not paying taxes, beating up their children, they seem so hypocritical. For the longest time I definitely didn’t see a reason for me saying that I wanted to be like that. I thought they were all fake, and if they were representing a God that was good and allowed you to prosper and you still were doing cruel things, why would I think He was real?”

I sat back and listened to Collin make complete sense.

“Someone told me a long time ago that the only Jesus someone will see is the Jesus in you, and for most Christians, even me, it’s hard to live the right way. Unfortunately when we sin we bring down His name. My mom, though, is a Catholic. How she got with my dad is probably the main reason I don’t spend time with any of my grandparents. It divided our families.”

“Yeah, I see how,” I said.

“She and I have been talking more since I got home. It didn’t matter how I was living my life before, I just wanted it to be all over. But when I survived, she opened up to me and told me that I had another chance. The Lord had spared me for some reason. My mom never talked to me about God at all; my dad wouldn’t allow her to raise me that way. But when she thought she lost her son, she came to me so purely and she asked me to seek out my salvation for myself.” He started looking heavenward. “God, if you’re up there I don’t want to be empty anymore. I don’t want to be in a place where I am so desperate that I try to harm myself with pain. Aw, what am I doing, You’re not real.”

I quickly got up off the bench and went to him. “Oh yes, He is real and He hears you. In order to have a relationship with Him all you have to do is ask.”

I felt the devil in the room playing tricks on us both, circling around us saying,
Nana nana. He’s not going to become saved. Say what you want to Perry, it’s not going to work. You might as well quit. He is mine.

So I started saying more and more about why he needed Christ. I was so fired up I was determined to win, and before our time was up Collin had dropped to his knees. We were two grown men with watery eyes praying for God’s grace to save him.

Later that evening we made our way back to our apartment to find that Rev. Shadrach, Lance’s dad, was visiting.

“Boys, it’s good to see you both,” the Reverend said.

I couldn’t stop smiling because my friend had accepted Christ today. With all the sorrow I had felt when someone died in front of me who didn’t know the Lord at all, I felt immense joy in a man reborn.

“I know you men have been through a lot. The pressures of college life, the demands of your athletics, I’m sure girls are thrown in there somewhere. I’ve been praying for you daily and I just felt like I needed to come up here and let you guys know that there is a God in Heaven that is about all four of you. Lance, He wanted me to tell you to give Him more.” His son looked away; I could tell he was humbled in that he knew he needed to give God his best. “Deuce, I’ve been knowing you since high school. You made a bold proclamation with Him recently and He’s proud.” Deuce hit me on the shoulder, nodding his head. He did take a bold stance. “And Collin. He’s glad to have you as one of His children.”

I was never one that was big on prophecy but everything the Rev. Shadrach was saying was accurate. Then he turned around and looked at me.

“He told me to tell you, son, don’t give up telling the lost about who He is. Some you immediately win for Christ, and some it may take a while. But what you’re doing now, telling young men and women how much they need Him, He’s called you too.” He looked at all four of us and said, “God will never leave you or forsake you. You may not agree with His methods but His love is higher and His ways are pure. Don’t stop following Him and don’t stop telling others, because whether you have been with Him for a day or all your life, He’s enough.” Rev. Shadrach got his keys, opened up the door and left.

Collin leaned back on the sofa and said out loud, “He’s enough.” The rest of us nodded but kept silent. I was truly thankful God sent us a word. That was enough.

It was Easter weekend and I was home. Damarius had asked Cole and myself over to his apartment. Honestly, I had no gut feeling about what could be going wrong, but I did know he sounded serious. Before I had dinner with my family I headed over to his place.

“Hey boy!” Cole said as soon as I got out of my car.

“What, you didn’t go in?” I asked.

“Naw man, I was waiting on you. He sounded all scared and stuff, I don’t know what he wants to tell us.”

“How long you been waiting out here?”

“Not long, about forty minutes.”

“Boy, I know you ain’t been waiting this long.”

“Seriously, I can’t deal with this stuff. You always have the right things to say. He might need prayer or something—what am I going to say?”

“Cole, you know the Lord. You don’t talk to Him now?”

“I say the Lord’s prayer, you know, before football games and stuff. I don’t even know none of those fancy words. He wouldn’t even understand me.”

“Cole, the Lord is not like that. Whatever you want to say to Him, He already knows what’s in your heart. He just needs you to surrender yourself to Him so He can act.”

He just looked at me and took it all in. God was a good God and He loved us. I don’t know why everybody thought He was so unapproachable. He was all knowing, all powerful and all superior and stuff, but He had His eye on the sparrow. He could read your heart even if no words were uttered.

“Bout time y’all got here!” Damarius said, opening the door before we even knocked. “A brother could be dying and his boys would take forever to come over and see about him.”

“Aw man, but we’re here,” Cole said, walking in the door.

We went into the bedroom and I flashed back to my first drunk experience. It was our senior year and he punked me into drinking; it was one beer after another and the next thing I knew I was on his bed feeling like my heart was about to beat out of my chest. The place was eerie to me, but I tried to block that out and focus on him. Damarius was twiddling his thumbs and Cole was looking at the ceiling. What was all of that about? Damarius called us over here; he needed to get right to the point so I said, “Alright, we’re here now. What’s up?”

“I’m going to war. I enrolled into the army.”

I was speechless. I couldn’t believe what I had just heard him say.

Cole sat up and said, “Naw man, you ain’t doing that, it’s not our war to fight.”

“I already enrolled, Cole, so chill, man. My cousin up north—you know my family that I went to see when Ciara died?”