“That’s tough,” Jimmy said. “I’ve found that when people keep making bad choices, at some point they’ll turn to the people who really care for them.”

Nate thought a moment and nodded. “Thanks for the ride, Mr. Colton.”

David was pushed out of the hospital in a wheelchair, something he thought was wildly unnecessary, but it was the hospital’s policy. He sat in the back seat of the car and stared out the window, trying to process his disappointment. He was glad to awaken without a headache, but he was still bummed that his chance to wrestle in the finals had been taken away.

His coach had stopped by his room as they were finishing dinner the night before. He’d said some encouraging things and told David the team was just glad that he had come through the surgery and that the doctor had given a good report.

“That’s the main thing,” Coach Pruett said. “You gave it your all for four years. You came a long way from the first day you walked into practice. And your spirit, the one that didn’t quit or stop learning and trying to get better, that was a real boost to the team. It’s going to serve you well down the road.”

“Yeah, but wrestling is not going to be part of the equation anymore.”

His coach nodded. “Yeah, that’s a bummer. And it can feel like God is rejecting your plan. But the way I look at it, it’s not so much rejection as it is redirection. You’re on a different path but you’re still headed forward.”

David had thanked his coach for coming and encouraging him, but the man’s words troubled him. As David watched the scenery on the way home, he couldn’t help thinking about the plan he’d mapped out for his life—the plan that was now gone. A wrestling scholarship would’ve meant that he could go to college on his own terms and not be dependent on his parents. As much as he loved them, he wanted to make his own way, to live his own life. Was there something wrong with that?

David had trophies and awards displayed in his room and he was proud of those. Was life all about how much he could win or accomplish? Was his life worth something only if he achieved things? Or achieved things on his own? That took him back to the day he was born. If he was a “mistake,” he had to prove himself and overcome obstacles in order to feel worthy. Was that why this setback felt so bad?