Jeremy Williams - Tenacious: How God Used a Terminal Diagnosis to Turn a Family and a Football Team into Champions

TENACIOUS

2013 by Jeremy and Jennifer Williams

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Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Williams, Jeremy, 1971

Tenacious : how God used a terminal diagnosis to turn a family and a football team into champions / Jeremy and Jennifer Williams with Rob Suggs.

pages cm.

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN 978-1-59555-523-6 (pbk.)

1. Williams, Jeremy, 1971- 2. Football coaches--United States--Biography. 3. Football coaches--United States--Religious life. 4. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis--Patients--Religious life. 5. Families--Religious life. I. Williams, Jennifer, 1972- II. Suggs, Rob. III. Title.

GV939.W52A3 2013

796.332092--dc23

[B]

2013004064

Printed in the United States of America

13 14 15 16 17 18 RRD 6 5 4 3 2 1

For Gods glory

CONTENTS

20. IN HIS GRIP

THE PLAYGROUND TEEMED WITH CHILDREN: LAUGHING, shouting, expending enough natural energy to power a small town.

Not far away, a group of mothers huddled together and kept watch: chatting, laughing, tending to the occasional skinned knee.

They were also tending a quiet conspiracy. Jennifer Williams simply hadnt caught on yet.

You know what you need, girl? Christina asked her that January morning in 2009. You need an extreme home makeover.

Tell me about it, Jennifer replied with a smirk.

Im serious. You know, the TV showwhere they come out and knock down your house and put up a new one. Wouldnt that be awesome?

Oh yeah! Jennifer laughed. Nice to dream, but Ive got to make do with what Ive got.

Oh, dont get me wrong, said Christina quickly. I love your house. Its adorable. But its not really set up for, well, accessibilitynot for Jacob. And soon its not going to work for Jeremy.

She offered this last part tentatively, knowing she was treading on rough terrain.

Its true. Jennifer sighed. Jacob cant reach anything he needs from his wheelchair. Its all up too high. He cant even reach his toothbrush by himself. Theres no room for him to wheel through the kitchen, and he cant go anywhere outside by himself because he cant get across the grass and the gravel drive.

I cant even imagine how tough all that is.

Well, Jacobs used to it. Its all hes ever known. But it breaks my heart, Christina. Jeremys too. Right now he can help Jacob, but in six months, a year...

Christina reached out and squeezed her friends hand. With her nursing background, she understood about caring for medical needs, and she knew life would only become tougher for Jennifer. That family needed a miracle.

Jennifer Williamss five-year-old son, Jacob, had been born with spina bifida, meaning he had spinal problems. He couldnt move his legs. And the previous year Jennifers football-coach husband had been diagnosed with Lou Gehrigs disease, a progressive and incurable affliction of the nerve cells. At the very most, Jeremy Williams had just a few years to live. And during that time, little by little, his body would lose motor control.

The Williamses lived in a little country home in Pine Mountain Valley, an unincorporated but close-knit community in Harris County, Georgia. The house had been their dream home until recently, when their life had taken a couple of left turns.

Jennifer often shared her challenges with this little group of mothers, who gathered regularly to let their children play together. She saw them as a powerful support group that had materialized not a moment too soon in her life. Her two guys had special needs. But she also had a needfor emotional and spiritual encouragement. Her friends loved her, and there were days when they provided the little touch of grace that kept her from despair.

Well, I still think you ought to apply for the home makeover thing, Christina said. Who could possibly deserve it more, Jen? Just fill out the application. Why not? Christina thrust a printout into her hands.

Jennifer couldnt believe her friend had gone to the trouble of getting an application. Thanks, she said. Ill think about it. But she knew shed throw the thing away as soon as she got home.

A couple of months passed before Naomi, another friend from the play group, approached Jennifer. Hi! Ive got something for you. And she handed her another application for Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.

This again? laughed Jennifer. Did Christina put you up to this?

Naomi produced an innocent expression while Adrianne added, Its a great idea, Jennifer. You guys deserve it!

Just fill it out, Naomi pressed. Go for it.

I dont know, Naomi. You know how much I love the home we have. Let me think about it.

But shed thought about it already, and she just couldnt wrap her mind around the idea of being on a television show. She could imagine God miraculously healing her men much more easily than Hollywood swooping in to make her home more accessible. It seemed like hitting the lottery or suddenly inheriting a million dollars from an unknown relative. Fantasy stuff.

When Melissa Acton brought her a third application, Jennifer sniffed out the conspiracy. Youre all together in this, arent you?

Guilty, said Melissa. Your sisters have been plotting behind your back. We love you, and we want you to have a brand-new home. Now are you going to cooperate and fill out that form, or are we going to have to fill it out ourselves?

Melissa, you girls can fill out forms to your hearts content. God gave us our house, and Im going to try and make it work.

It was a battle of feminine wills. Every five weeks, one of the women showed up with another application, but Jennifer held the line. Then, in October 2009, the local newspaper carried an article announcing that ABC-TVs Extreme Makeover: Home Edition was looking for a Georgia family to accept one of their remarkable home constructions.

Now her friends were insistent. Naomi said, Jennifer, your chances are fifty times better now! You just have to compete with people from your own state.

That same day, another friendone from outside the play groupcalled Jennifer. Ava Medders was the wife of Jeremys best friend, Chip. She, too, had read the article, and she challenged Jennifer to pray about such an extraordinary opportunity.