You just never know where God’s grace can take you nor what the power of forgiveness can do in you and through you. Sarah and I just recently returned from Colorado Springs, Colo. where we were completely humbled to participate in a Family Talk radio show interview with renowned Christian psychologist, author, and family advocate, Dr. James Dobson.Ever since I was a toddler and could register conversations in my little mind, I was exposed to the influence of Dr. Dobson through my parents. I knew his voice because my mother would listen to his radio program every single night while cleaning up after dinner. I knew his positions on the importance of a strong marriage as modeled by my parents. And I experienced his teachings on parenting because my mom devoured every single book he ever wrote on child rearing.So needless to say, to be in his presence and have a conversation with him was surely surreal. I have often wondered to myself, and have often prayed in wonder to God,  how did I get here?You see, nothing can explain my life except grace. Not luck. Not chance. Only the grace of God can bring one to a place of purpose, even in a bad situation like mine, and only forgiveness can bring a peace that is essential to propel one forward.In all honesty, without the forgiveness and acceptance from my victim Hort Kap’s family, it would have been impossible for me to move forward let alone find purpose in the pain.The road was paved through their undeserving support. You see, when they forgave me, they empowered me and unleashed a passion within me of gratitude and awe for Christ and His healing hand over my life. Think about it. There is really no other explanation as to how beauty can rise from ashes except the truth that life, forgiveness, and grace begins at the foot of the cross.When Mr. Kap’s children forgave me for what I did, they showed me the heart of God. My story isn’t about me; it’s about how potent forgiveness can be.  The catalyst of where I am today and the platform God has entrusted to me can be found in the forgiveness of my yesterday.If you can glean anything from my story, know this, if you need forgiveness, seek it upward first and know that God is faithful and just to give it. Then seek it forward and know that whether it is given by man or not, you did your part.If you need to forgive today, look upward first for your strength and know that God's love can help you do what your own nature cannot. Then pass the forgiveness forward, which will give way for healing to start.To forgive does not mean to condone, but to forgive means to let go. "And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you" (Ephesians 4:32).Maher’s interview with Dr. James Dobson will air Aug. 29 and Aug. 30 on all Family Talk Radio stations, https://drjamesdobson.org/broadcasts/todays-broadcast.Matthew Maher is a former professional athlete and author of the newly-released book "U MAY B THE ONLY BIBLE SOMEBODY READS: R U LEGIBLE?" His “Decisions Determine Destiny” assemblies are funded by State Farm and service youth in the tri-state area. He is also the director of Student Ministries at Coastal Christian Ocean City. He served four years and seven months in N.J. State prison and was released August 2014. You can learn more at www.themattmaherstory.com. Follow him on Twitter @mattmaherstory and on Instagram @matthewmaher7

I am living proof that failures aren't the end of living, but can serve as the humbling opportunity to begin again. You see, we all fall from time to time, but it's how we respond and recover that determines, not the outcome, but how we come out on the other side.You never really know the outcome at the beginning of adversity or as you are moving through a tragedy.But God does.He knows the outcome of every circumstance, and He can choose to guide us around the hardship or the suffering, but often He chooses not to. Why?  Because He has a purpose in mind, which would not be fulfilled if He snatched us out of our valley moments.His major purpose is to deepen our faith, so that when we come out on the other side we can highlight His grace.So He allows failure, disappointments, and even tragedy; and then uses all of it as a teaching tool to show us first-hand what true grace, mercy, love, and faithfulness looks like.I can attest to the reality of God at my darkest moments when there was nowhere to look but up. It was His presence that surrounded me and filled me. And it was through His Holy Spirit that I not only gained comfort, but I can boldly proclaim the reality and intimacy of my God.And in the words of Job in the Old Testament, one who was called righteous by God Himself, “My ears had heard of You, but now my eyes have seen you” (Job 42:5).Job was a man loved by God, and yet God allowed him to lose all of his riches, comfort and health, and worse yet, all of his 10 children. And it was after all of that when Job acknowledges a new level of intimacy with God. Remarkable.Think about that.Whatever you are facing that is holding you down, look up and through Christ find the strength to get up. And it is right there where God's graciousness shows up. In my situation, even in my shame.Yes, people will try to remind you of what you've done. But that doesn't mean you have to be defined by what you've done. You see, when Jesus died for the world, He assigned us our worth. He covered our pitiful failures with His successful love.He gave us a new start with each fall and a new beginning with each scar. So even from the deepest pit or the darkest hole, God's redemption can reach into and revive any soul.Therefore, failures don't need to end with shame. Because when you look at the cross, you will see that Jesus put an end to shame. Which means, by God's grace, there is nothing left for you to do but to begin with faith and surrender everything else at His feet.Matthew Maher is a former professional athlete and author of the newly released book U MAY B THE ONLY BIBLE SOMEBODY READS: R U LEGIBLE? His “Decisions Determine Destiny” assemblies are funded by State Farm and service youth in the tri-state area. He is the President of Soldiers For Faith Ministries and also the Director of Student Ministries at Coastal Christian Ocean City. He served four years and seven months in N.J. State prison and was released August 2014. You can learn more at www.themattmaherstory.com. Follow him on Twitter @mattmaherstory and on Instagram @matthewmaher7

What do you do when you’ve found yourself between yesterday’s tragedy and tomorrow’s triumph? I cannot tell you what to do, but please allow me to share what God graced me to do, and hopefully that will be the inspiration you need to get through.First, you cannot worry about the time you will spend waiting between tragedy and triumph, knowing that God is always working even while we’re waiting. You see, when you think too hard about time, time can seriously get in the way and actually feel like it’s slowing down.But when you think about the One who holds the time, you begin to add legs to time because there’s no such thing as “dead time” when you’re operating out of eternal time. The goal is to "be still" yet still moving, trusting that God will move when it is absolutely best for you.Next, you cannot dwell on the past, for what’s done is done. And if you look back in regret, you will not be able to move forward into grace; because what you do today will surely affect your tomorrow before it has even begun.Yesterday’s tragedy and tomorrow’s triumph are certainly interrelated, but it’s only in the present where faith can be regulated, and your life can be liberated.Finally, but not entirely, you shouldn’t attempt to look too far down the road. I’m not saying don’t cast your vision, but I am saying don’t let your idea of the vision to cast you.Because when it’s all said and done, it may not look like what you envisioned, and if things start to go in a different direction, then your vision must be flexible enough to take on a new perception.For yesterday’s tragedy to turn into tomorrow’s triumph, it is mandatory to have today’s trust. And that’s exactly the secret to keeping you from past regret and future fret; it’s living in present trust.In the “time of in-between” that most would call waiting, God’s economy desires us to use the in-between time as training. And that’s what I recommend you do if you ever find yourself in-between yesterday’s tragedy and tomorrow’s triumph. Live in today’s trust.Postscript: This upcoming election will have many people defining the outcome as either a ‘tragedy’ or a ‘triumph,' depending on how they voted and who prevails.I cannot vote since I am on parole, but I would implore everyone who can vote to exercise his or her privilege. My faith tells me that regardless of what happens that God will sit sovereign on His throne the day after the election.However, if you say you are a Christian, then you have an obligation to be an informed voter. Know the differences in the party platforms by searching “FRC Action Party Platform Comparison” at www.youtube.com.And then trust the outcome as an opportunity to grow your faith.(Maher is a former professional athlete and author of the book “U MAY B THE ONLY BIBLE SOMEBODY READS: R U LEGIBLE?" His “Decisions Determine Destiny” assemblies are funded by State Farm and service youth in the tristate area. He is president of Soldiers for Faith Ministries and also the director of Student Ministries at Coastal Christian Ocean City. He served four years and seven months in N.J. State prison and was released August 2014. Learn more at www.themattmaherstory.com. Follow him on Twitter @mattmaherstory and on Instagram @matthewmaher7)

Have you ever heard the term “swan song?” It refers to the ancient belief that swans sing a beautiful song in the moment just before death, having been silent or not so musical during most of their lifetime. This proverbial saying stemmed from Greek mythology. I find there is some metaphorical truth to this.It is often in our darkest moments that we have a decision to make regarding our circumstances. How will we respond? Because it is inevitable that when we are squeezed, something will come out - will it be a ‘song’ or simply ‘white noise?’As we come to the holidays I was moved upon hearing the history of a particular Christmas song favorite. The song "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day," was birthed, interestingly, through a death.In the summer of 1861, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s wife, Frances, died tragically in a fire. The first Christmas without her, he wrote in his diary, “How inexpressibly sad are the holidays.” In 1863, as the Civil War was dragging on, Longfellow’s son joined the army against his father’s wishes and was critically injured. It was during another upcoming painful Christmas that he wrote this song. It begins as a song of desolation, but ends with these words, “Then pealed the bells more loud and deep: God is not dead nor doth He sleep! The wrong shall fail, the right prevail, with peace on earth, good-will to men.”Now that’s a swan song.Another favorite song of mine is "It Is Well With My Soul," penned by prominent Chicago lawyer Horatio Spafford. Spafford’s life was full of tragic events. He lost his young 4-year-old son to scarlet fever. Then, the 1871 Great Chicago Fire ruined his massive real estate business, and his losses were compounded by another economic hit in 1873. At that time, he had planned to travel to Europe with his family, but his plans changed suddenly due to an impending business matter. He sent his family on ahead. While crossing the Atlantic, the ship they were passengers on, the Ville du Havre, sank after a collision with another sea vessel, and all four of Spafford's daughters, ages 11, 9, 5, and 2, died. All four! His wife Anna survived and sent him the now famous telegram, "Saved alone …" Shortly afterward, as Spafford traveled to meet his grieving wife, he penned this timeless song at the spot where the fateful collision occurred. The song concludes with these powerful words, “Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say, ‘It is well, it is well with my soul.’Now that’s a swan song.As we approach the holidays and New Year, I can only testify from my own life, that whatever burdens are weighing you down - past, present, or future - no matter how dark or hopeless it may appear, that when we surrender our circumstances into God’s hands, He will put a swan’s song into our heart. And in spite of the sadness, disappointment, or any derailed dream, our response can be the very song that will lift someone else’s burden from white noise to beautiful music.ED. NOTE: Maher is a former professional athlete and author of the book “U MAY B THE ONLY BIBLE SOMEBODY READS: R U LEGIBLE?" His “Decisions Determine Destiny” assemblies are funded by State Farm and service youth in the tristate area. He is president of Soldiers for Faith Ministries and also the director of Student Ministries at Coastal Christian Ocean City. He served four years and seven months in N.J. State prison and was released August 2014. Learn more at www.themattmaherstory.com. Follow him on Twitter @mattmaherstory and on Instagram @matthewmaher7.

He was “that guy;” nineteen years of soccer training, 16 years of education, and a lifetime of popularity and fame that all ended in a second on March 7, 2009. Matt Maher was a 25-year-old professional soccer player when he drove under the influence, crashed, and killed 55-year-old Hort Kap. Since his release from five and a half years in prison in 2014, he has presented his story to over 7,000 students in New Jersey, and continues to present today. Matt presented to the Pascack Hills freshman and sophomore classes. “If you can just open up your perspective a little bit and realize man, how fragile life is, number one, and how much more should I guard the decisions I make, number two, but not just my decisions,” says Maher. “If I can have a role in helping him make the right decision, then I’m just as responsible.”Pascack Hills senior, Jack Rossig, commended Matt by saying, “It’s really motivating and awesome to see go from something that negative and turn it into something positive.” In response, Matt said, “There was always an option to go the other [negative] way…and as early as it happened I remember having a decision to make even in that moment. You know, what do you do if everything you thought was right is now flipped upside down, the way you were living. But you don’t just leave it at that, you have to respond to it.”Matt credits integrity, accountability and faith for allowing him to move forward in life. He accepts the fact that he did make a mistake and he says he has no excuses for what has been done. Matt has been through many other difficult things in his life such as the death of his brother in 2005. He believes that difficult situations like this build a person’s character. He says, “Usually it takes troubles or trials to shape your character, it’s really how character is built, when you go through stuff.” He continued by encouraging students “to keep enduring, to keep pushing things out, because eventually you will be standing on solid ground and you can look back and think man I can’t believe where I was, but thank God I am where I am.”Matt’s court story became a story of forgiveness when a photo of him and his victim’s son hugging became the cover picture for many news articles. During the presentation Matt played videos from his court appearance. However, he said the only video he actually watches during the presentation is the one where he is hugging his victim’s son because he wants to see this scene of forgiveness. This focus on forgiveness really inspired Matt.“It’s still emotional for me, but it’s not like…’have sympathy for me’ it’s more like, ‘man, I don’t deserve to be here sharing, but I am.’ My challenge and my goal is to help somebody else out that may be making the same decisions that they are not seeing clearly.”Gale Mangold, Pascack Hills Student Assistance Counselor, said, “Matt’s presentation was well received by the student body, and his journey was particularly powerful because individuals in our own community have had tragic circumstances surrounding this issue of driving while intoxicated. Matt spoke at both PHHS and PVHS to raise student awareness. A series of Red Ribbon Week prevention programs like this one were implemented throughout the district, to spare even one student from dealing with the heart ache a DUI tragedy causes.”Throughout the presentation Matt tried to connect to and reach the students. One of the impactful question Matt left with the students was, “So, something will happen in life, young, old, and you are going to have a decision to respond to it. Do you let it define you? Or, do you let it refine you, do you let it mold you?”