I have had lots of dreams. I bet you have too. A few of them have come true, like marrying that beautiful girl I saw from a distance on my first day of college; or pastoring a great church and seeing the Lord bless it. Some dreams, well I have matured past, like that “Unanswered Prayers” song. Others have crashed and burned despite my best efforts.
But, this past Saturday, one of my long lost dreams, one I had abandoned a long, long time ago, came true. At least kind of. On September 26, 2020, the starting quarterback for the Arkansas Razorbacks wore a jersey with the name “FRANKS” on the back. No, it was not me, or any of my offspring, but rather Felipe Franks, a transfer from Florida. I am sure we are related, maybe a third cousin twice removed or something. Sort of like the way the Georgia defense removed the ball from him as many times.
You see, growing up in Arkansas, almost everyone was a fan of the Razorbacks. Despite a few fantastic years and hopefully a few more under basketball coach Musselman’s leadership, Arkansas is a state united by and devoted to football.
Now, while not as bad as Oklahoma and those Sooner fans who are a bit miffed every year they actually have to play the games, because obviously, they deserve to win the national championship. Arkansans love their football and their Razorbacks. (Even though Arkansas State has won more games the last decade and has a win over a power five conference team, which the Razorbacks don’t. This win still counts even though it was against Kansas State, who happened to beat Oklahoma the same weekend. Did I mention that?)
Anyway, all of that to say, I always dreamed about being the starting quarterback for the Arkansas Razorbacks and have them announce “Touchdown thrown by Franks.” But, now that I am 49 and have already used up my undergraduate and graduate eligibility, I thought the dream was over. But it was not, at least not really. A Franks did throw a touchdown pass; it just was not me.
Did I have anything to do with it? Could I take any credit for it? No, but somehow I think the Lord has honored those intense and sincere prayers of a little boy from so many years ago. Even if he did not, I still got a thrill seeing it happen.
It is the same when you make a gift to a ministry you believe in, even though you can’t do the ministry yourself. You may not be able to take in a foster child right now, but you can make a gift to your Missouri Baptist Children’s Home. Maybe you can’t teach a college student the value of a Christ-centered philosophy of business, but you can support one of your three Missouri Baptist Universities who do. And while you can’t care for the widow, you can write a check to The Baptist Home for their benevolent care efforts.
Maybe you don’t really have any extra income right now, as times are tough, and perhaps your job is at risk. But you could leave something in your estate plan. Maybe your house you won’t need any more after your mail has been forwarded to the corner of Golden and Pearl Streets.
If every Missouri Baptist would leave something, how many more people could be cared for and hear the story of Jesus. Isn’t that what cooperation is all about, helping somebody do what we want to see done, but can’t do by ourselves? That is even more miraculous than the Razorbacks scoring a touchdown of late, no matter whose name is on the back of the jersey!