Against All Odds

Winner By Unanimous Decision
I will use a heavyweight boxing analogy to share how Hope in God
transformed my life from apparent defeat to total victory. Allow me to use
my imagination and become a fight announcer. I will introduce the
opponents or challengers that tried to knock me out. The announcer belts
out over the Public Address: in the corner to my left the contenders;
A near fatal car accident at the age of 8, A Fever of 106 at the
age of 10, A near fatal knife wound at the age of 15, A bullet that missed
at age 16, A drug and alcohol addiction at the age of 18, A Suicide
ideation at the age of 25, A Diagnosis of Clinical Depression at the age of
32, A Diagnosis of hypertension at the age of 40, A Diagnosis of BPH

(benign prostatic hyperplasia – i.e.; enlarged prostrate gland)
at age 45, A Diagnosis of Glaucoma at the age of
60, A Diagnosis of Iatrogenic diabetes insipidus and type 2 diabetes mellitus

at the age of 62.
Rheumatoid Arthritis at the age of 62, Stage G3a/A1 Kidney disease at
the age of 62, and A diagnosis of Secondary Hyperparathyroidism at the
age of 62.
Now the ring announcer turns to the other corner and he speaks
into the P.A. System and says, Ladies and Gentlemen and boxing fans all
over the world. I direct your attention to the fighter in the red trunks,
weighing in at 175 pounds; the defending heavy weight champion; Pastor
Stephen M. Colbert Sr. Now let's get ready to RUMBLE!
Fifteen fights against 15 different medical conditions.
I was knocked down to the mat many times in each fight. The referee gave
me the standing ten count several times in each fight. But I got back up
from the mat each time. The bell sounded to end the round before the
referee could finish the ten count and I was able to retreat and recover in
my corner. I had the greatest fight manager in the world and he doubled
as my corner cut man. Jesus Christ was my cut man, he was my healer,
he was my comforter, he was my strength, he was my word, he was my
wisdom and he was my encourager. I was able to bounce back and get
back in the ring because Jesus gave me an unbreakable spirit. I liken my
spirit to the bounce back action of one of my favorite childhood toys;
"Weeble Wobble". Weeble Wobble was a trade mark for children's roley-
poley toys originating in Hasbro's play school collection in the 1970's.
Tipping an egg-shaped Weeble causes a weight located at
the bottom-center to be lifted off the ground. Once released, gravitational
force brings the Weeble back into an upright position. I fought my
medical conditions like I was a Weeble Wobble man. Jesus was the
weight in the center of my life. This is what I say to encourage all the
Weeble Wobble people in the world: “If anyone tells you that you
will not recover from a tragedy in your life, look them straight in the eyes
and respond with these declarations: If you can peep at my
disability, don’t forget to stare at my ability. If you can’t understand my process,
just watch my progress. If you are confused by my reality, wait to see my
actuality and my destiny; and my condition is not my conclusion!”
Fifteen fights with the unbeatable God on my side. Fifteen fights
that I not only survived, but I won each one by unanimous decision.
Fifteen fights that I escaped from without a crippling or disabling condition.
Fifteen fights from age 8 to age 62, now I’m looking forward with hope and
a future. I am a winner in life by unanimous decision!
I am ecstatically happy about the recent medical reports I received
from my doctors (October 11, 2017). Based the results of a battery of lab
tests each one of the fifteen medical conditions cited in this book has been
stabilized or reversed. I will be forever grateful for the excellent care I
received from all my doctors, nurses and other medical staff during and
after my hospitalization.
Winners Never Quit
I end this chapter with another amazing account of my life against
all odds. On Monday October 23, 2017, I participated in a basketball
game at the age of Sixty-three years young. To add even more
amazement to this event, the location of the basketball game was
at the Francis Scott Key Middle School, located at 1425 E. Fort Ave.
I taught 8th grade math to special needs students at the school
in 1985. One might call my return to the school a Deja vu experience,
but I will call it a providential act of God. I was admitted to the
hospital while teaching at the school. I totally collapsed emotionally
under the pressure of life in it’s mixed and varied forms. Even under the
stress, I managed to receive superior evaluations from the principal
Gene Lawrence. Principal Lawrence noted in one of my yearly evaluations,
that I was one of the best special education teachers he had ever observed
in a classroom setting.
Now in 2017, 32 years later, I returned to the school to play
basketball with a group of players whose average age was 31. My son Stephen
Jr. jokingly recruited me to play in the game and he was surprised when I
showed up in my basketball gear ready to play. The coach said “put this man into
the game”. He put me in and I played, and I felt incredibly awesome! – On
Monday October 23, 2017 at approximately 9:00 pm, I found the favor of God at
the place of one of my biggest setbacks; The Francis Scott key Middle School,
1425 E. Fort Ave. The first anniversary of my hospital admittance is November
25th, 2107. That’s the day I was rushed to the Sinai hospital with a Blood Sugar
Level of 1100. I survived and now I am thriving in good health and prosperity.
I would like to declare November 25th as “AGAINST ALL ODDS DAY”! Good
evening my friend; Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and
present you faultless before his glory with exceeding great joy, to the only wise
God our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever,
Amen! (Jude 1:24-25 KJV).