Former pro baseball pitcher said faith got him through his biggest challenge
By Jodelle GreinerMARSHALL - Dave Dravecky has faced a lot of challenges and it's made him think.
A former major league baseball pitcher, Dravecky lost his left arm and shoulder to cancer 18 years ago. He revealed during a chapel service at Marshall Area Christian School on Friday morning that he has been diagnosed with Epstein-Barr Syndrome.
"It's in the brokenness and tough stuff of life that God speaks the loudest," Dravecky said.
He's been considering three words and what they mean.
"Freedom - what does it really mean to be free in Christ?" he asked. "A freedom in the scriptures that compels us to be drawn to Christ.
"Simplicity - watching the kids, there's so much innocence and simplicity in your lives," he said. "When you grow up, for some reason, that changes. Why? Why can't I be like a little kid? Realize who God is, but keep the simplicity. Don't clutter your life with stuff. Clutter your life with Jesus.
"Contentment - a powerful word for us," Dravecky said.
He asked the kids what contentment was. One said contentment was confidence, to be sure of yourself.
"Being happy with who you are," Dravecky added.
To experience freedom and contentment, "I have to start with simplicity," he said.
"It's not the picture I'm painting, it's the one God is painting," Dravecky said, "the story God is writing for our lives."
When he was struggling after the cancer diagnosis, Chuck Swindoll read passages from the Bible to him, starting with Philippians 4:10.
"No matter what you're going through, Christ is there," Dravecky said. "It's about growing and learning in your understanding of who Jesus is.
"I want to be Jesus with skin on. That's what the church should be," Dravecky said.
"I have learned that I am nothing without Jesus," he said. "But I've also come to understand that with Him, I have everything. He'll never leave me or forsake me. I have a promise that I will live with Him forever."
