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Championship QB
Counts Career, Personal Trials as Joy
Trent Dilfer, Seattle Seahawks
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 By
Doug Greengard
Christian Sports Minute
Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials
of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith
develops perseverance.
(James 1: 2,3) (NIV)
From the
pinnacle of success to the depths of despair, Trent Dilfer,
quarterback for the National Football League's Seattle Seahawks, has
experienced it all. His personal and professional lives have seen
times of great triumph --- and of even greater tragedy. "God has
become so much bigger through these times," says Dilfer. "His grace
has abounded beyond anything I ever thought I could experience."
The Dilfer
family continues to deal with the loss of their son Trevin, who
after battling a heart ailment, went to be with the Lord in the
spring of 2003 at the age of five. It was the type of experience
that can leave many questioning God.
"I've never
stopped to ask, 'Why?,'" adds the veteran quarterback. "We just ask
what He wants us to learn from this and how He wants to use this.
And He has been faithful times a million."
Dilfer's
football career has brought him to the highest of highs and the
lowest of lows. The sixth overall pick in the 1994 draft, Dilfer
spent his first six years in Tampa Bay. With the Buccaneers, he
became the team's second all-time leading passer and earned a trip
to the Pro Bowl. In 2000, he joined
Baltimore
and quarterbacked the Ravens to the Super Bowl XXXV championship.
"Winning the
Super Bowl was great and it was fun and I enjoyed every moment of
it, but it's a small moment in time compared to the gift of eternal
life and what we have in Christ," says Dilfer, who saw countless
teammates left unfulfilled in the wake of Super Bowl success.
"Nothing fills the void except Christ. People hear that all the
time, but it's true."
Before even
receiving his title ring, Dilfer was released by the Ravens and
signed by the Seahawks. His tenure in
Seattle has been marked with several injuries, and he has been
relegated to, mostly, a back-up role.
"I believe that
God has allowed football to go that way in my life so that I trust
Him more," adds Dilfer. "I have really struggled with pride
throughout my life, and if football would have come easy for me I
would not have followed Him and trusted Him the way I needed to. And
He, by His love, has allowed me to go through some hard times so I
would be dependent on Him completely."
Through it all,
Dilfer has found one teammate he can always depend on --- Jesus
Christ.
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