Miguel by Kevin Parker |
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| Miguel The NPC Heart of Texas bodybuilding contest has come & passed and was definitely a success for all involved. Many came together to celebrate the progress they had made in their training. Some, like me, came to return to competition after a hiatus and others were improving over previous efforts earlier this year. But the day, on-stage & off, belonged to a modest, quiet & unassuming man who I had the pleasure of meeting for the first time right before we walked onto stage together in the open middleweight class. His name is Miguel. Miguel is a catholic priest who came to this country 7 years ago leaving his home & family in Columbia, South America. In Columbia, priests are often threatened and/or killed for evangelizing & serving God in areas controlled by drug lords. What must have seemed to Miguel as loss & defeat by being compelled to leave his country was this country’s gain as I personally found out. Miguel was so friendly & warm before we started our class’s competition & his physique was so good, I hunted him down between the morning & evening shows to have my picture made with him (I had my picture made with Tito Raymond in 1999 in NYC but lost it & didn’t want to miss out on another opportunity with an up & coming bodybuilder). Little did I know our conversation would impact me far greater than almost any other single experience in my 22 years of bodybuilding. Miguel explained to me in broken English that dedication to his training & diet were his form of worship to God. "Even if doing the bench press, I offer every rep to God." He went on to explain to me that it was his "prayer" to God, his act of worship. I told him I thought he would win the overall (best in show) on this day but Miguel modestly deflected my compliment by saying that what God did with his physique & efforts were up to God alone, he just wanted his efforts to worship God by giving Him & Him alone his (Miguel’s) very best effort. Miguel’s humility & singularity of mind to worship God by offering even each single rep of his workouts, every morsel of food & ounce of water taken in completely took me off guard. Had I competed in August as originally planned, I would have missed this man made beautiful by the light of Christ shining like a beacon. After dispatching me with ease in the middleweight class, Miguel then did the same to the other class winners easily winning the overall title. And for all the bravado & ego that normally accompanies bodybuilding contests, God was glorified as the meekest, most humble man in the building was exalted to the highest honor that could be given at this show. Miguel humbly dropped to a knee & thanked God when his victory was announced; his victory was God’s. "Therefore, I urge you brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-this is your spiritual act of worship." Romans 12:1 "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body." I Corinthians 6:19 & 20. Your brother in Christ, Kevin I will have pictures of Miguel on my 360 page. See the link below to see this world-class athlete & God’s ambassador. http://360.yahoo.com/dfbb_15909 http://home.hot.rr.com/kevinparkers http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/drugfreebodybuilding |
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