The Peace Of God - Thomas and Missy Brooks - The Church at Cahaba Bend

Philippians 4:6-7 says: "Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus".

Our son, Gabe, grew up playing sports and decided several years ago that he wanted to try and play golf as a college athlete. We have been blessed in such a way that he traveled and participated in junior golf events throughout the Southeast with some success.  Along the way, we talked about power of prayer and how it can help eliminate anxiety and pressure. As he started the recruiting process, we prayed for guidance that God would lead Gabe to an opportunity to pursue college golf as college recruiting can be brutal for those that are not highly ranked on the junior circuit. Of course, there are opportunities if young players are willing to look for them. 

Missy and I noticed a change in Gabe regarding his demeanor on the golf course during the summer of his Junior year of high school (a fairly important year for recruiting as this is when college coaches are allowed to talk to potential recruits).  Gabe continued to struggle during competition but was starting to hear from some coaches which boosted his morale a bit. We continued to pray and encouraged Gabe to pray for God’s peace, wisdom, and discernment as we took college visits.  As we approached signing day (February of his Senior year), he had been speaking to the golf coach at a small Methodist school in east Tennessee and mentioned that he really liked the guy.  Gabe scheduled a time for us to do a conference call with the coach so that I could understand what the coach was offering and ask questions that needed some clarification.  The coach was pushing Gabe hard to sign the national letter of intent which binds the player to that school.  I told Gabe and the coach that he would not be signing anything at that moment because our family needed to discuss and pray about this. Gabe submitted all the college admission information for acceptance at the school.  Our family agreement was that we would continue to pray and seek God’s will for Gabe’s life and where he would be going to school.  I challenged Gabe to pray about this school for the next 14 days (prior to National Signing Day) as Missy and I would be doing the same.  After the 14 days, Gabe came to us and said that he wanted to sign the letter of intent and that he wanted to be done with recruiting. After much prayer he believed that Hiwassee College is where he was to go. Missy and I both had some reservations but no major misgivings in our Spirits at that time, so we moved forward with Gabe. 

Missy and Gabe had already taken one visit to the school, and now it was time for all of us to go together as a family so he could sign his letter of intent.  Everything was okay - not great - just okay. We had been praying but still didn’t have that peace in our souls.  Gabe signed the letter of intent and felt good about his choice. We found out during spring break of his senior year that Hiwassee College was shutting its doors for good in May, and that Gabe’s choice of school was no longer an option. The timing on this was horrible as coaches had pretty much completed their rosters, and we were approaching the admission deadline for most schools.

As the Brooks family was experiencing anxiety and many other emotions, we continued to pray specifically for God’s peace and direction for where Gabe needed to be.  I remember sitting in my car at a red light on my way to work, crying as my heart hurt for my son and I was angry at God.  I was trying to pray and then I started yelling at God wondering how he would allow my son to hurt like this.  Do what you want to me, but not my son.  Sitting in my car, this power/sense whatever you want to call it, came over me and all I heard is, “He is not your son, He is MY CHILD and I HAVE A PLAN FOR HIM. DO YOU TRUST ME?”  It was at that moment my Spirit was filled with peace, and I am thankful that God was there waiting on me to truly place my son in HIS hands.  God opened many doors and several coaches reached out to Gabe to let him know of potential opportunities.  The principal at the High School allowed us to take more college visits to explore all opportunities that came his way.  When we took a visit to Millsaps College to tour the campus and meet the golf coach, all three of us had that overwhelming sense of peace that we found where God wanted Gabe all along. Gabe was admitted to Millsaps, got a great scholarship, and signed to play golf.

Looking back, we can clearly see where God was working in the people (coaches and others) that HE brought into our lives at particular and specific moments in this journey.  As you go through life events, it may not be a definitive sign that points you in one direction or another but take that uneasy feeling/sense specifically and directly to God in prayer. God is waiting on us to bring it to HIM!