Ready to Go

Nick Foles after a Super Bowl TD (Washington Post)

In July, 2016 quarterback Nick Foles had been cut by the St. Louis Rams and decided to retire from football. Sports Illustrated:

He planned to become a high school pastor and join his father, Larry, as a full-time restaurateur.

Kansas City Coach Andy Reid contacted the 27-year-old and signed him as the backup quarterback for the Chiefs ("You have a lot of great football left in you").

Confidence restored, he became the backup QB for the Philadelphia Eagles for the 2017-2018 season. Taking over when starting quarterback Carson Wentz went down with a season-ending injury in December, Nick Foles was so lightly regarded that the Eagles were the underdog in each of their three playoff games.

On Sunday the Eagles were Super Bowl champions, and Nick Foles was named the game's Most Valuable Player.

He's at the mountain top now, but he doesn't seem to be caught up in the moment.

"I think in our society today, Instagram, Twitter, it's a highlight reel. It's all the good things. And then when you look at it, when you think like, wow, when you have a rough day, 'My life's not as good as that,' (you think) you're failing.

"Failure is a part of life. It's a part of building character and growing. Without failure, who would you be? I wouldn't be up here if I hadn't fallen thousands of times. Made mistakes.

"We all are human, we all have weaknesses, and I think throughout this, (it's been important) to be able to share that and be transparent. I know when I listen to people speak and they share their weaknesses, I'm listening. Because (it) resonates.

"So I'm not perfect. I'm not Superman. I might be in the NFL, I might have just won a Super Bowl, but, hey, we still have daily struggles, I still have daily struggles. And that's where my faith comes in, that's where my family comes in.

"I think when you look at a struggle in your life, just know that's just an opportunity for your character to grow. And that's just been the message. Simple. If something's going on in your life and you're struggling? Embrace it. Because you're growing."

Andy Reid understated how much great football he had left, but when Nick Foles eventually hangs up his cleats, it looks like he's already well-prepared for his second career.

[Update - 2/7: Nick Foles wasn't channeling Friedrich Nietzsche ("what does not kill me makes me stronger") Giving thanks for one's own suffering is a very old Christian concept.

we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. --Romans 5]