On this morning four years ago, I received a phone call that absolutely floored me. Coach Armstrong‘s daughter, Alice, was on the other side of the call. When I saw her name on caller ID, I had no idea what I was about to hear. I was anticipating something about her grandfather. What she told me left me speechless. I couldn’t believe it. I still don’t believe it. Even as I write this, I don’t believe it. She told me that her father had had a heart attack and was no longer with us. What? Coach Armstrong was gone.
As I think about him on this day, there’s so many things that I can say. So many things but, I don’t have room in this devotion. The lessons that he taught me. The values that he showed me. The morals to live by. The conversations. The stories. Oh man, the stories. As much as I miss him, as much as I want to hear him say……SCOTT-T!!! As much as I want to hear him give me tough advice. As much as I want to tell him about my family. I think it’s best to honor him today with something that I will always have that I learned. I can sum it up in two words: All In!
If you got to know him, you know what I’m talking about. If you let him into your life, you know what I’m talking about. He was all in! You didn’t have to question it. You didn’t have to think about it. You knew. He made sure you knew. No matter the situation. How big or small. He was all in. Whenever we talked, all that mattered was that moment. At that moment, he was all in. If we were working on something, all in. Practice, all in. Coaching, conversations, preaching, educating…all in. And that is how he taught me to be a believer. To be all in! When we follow Christ, there should be no doubt. Others should see that. Whenever we are reading, learning, educating others, when it comes to Christ, we should be all in. No matter the situation. No matter the triumphs or the trials, we should be all in! Jesus is the ultimate example. His sacrifice shows us. Leave no doubt. So today, let’s work at this. For Jesus, let’s be ALL IN!!!
