Ben Lee graduated from River Falls High School in 1994. As a member of the wrestling team, I remember watching him compete on the JV squad when he weighed less than 100 pounds. With a baggy lycra singlet, he fought like crazy back then and now he's fighting for his life.
Here is a link to his Caring Bridge site: Support Ben Lee & His Family.
How does one make sense of things like this? It's a sad time for the Lee family and I'm going to use it to elevate Ben into the spotlight so he knows that he made a difference. He's a part of a bigger story. Interconnected in a move of God. So, I'm giving him his own blog post.
I wrote my first blog in 2009. Very few people followed it and my posts were essentially a journal of my thoughts. Most of those early posts had less than 10 viewers.
I didn't really have a plan, but I knew that I had things that needed to be said. I just tried to put into words the things that God was teaching me through my various roles and relationships with others. I left the results to God.
It didn't take long before I received random messages from friends on Facebook and people I didn't even know. Many of them said they appreciated what I was doing and encouraged me to keep writing. So I have. And a decade later, I've been able to connect with hundreds of thousands of readers all over the world. I believe God has used this blog in many ways and each time I sit down to write I think of my audience and one person always comes to mind: Ben Lee.
It's true.
The most important feedback that I have received about this blog came from Ben's sister almost 10 years ago. Kaari grew up with my little sister and we've had conversations about our faith since the 90's. She told me that Ben enjoyed reading my blogs and they had been positively influencing him. The way she communicated this struck a cord inside my heart and I realized that God was doing something through this blog and, at times, these words were the only connection others had to the marvelous wonders of God. I no longer had a choice. I had to write. The audience was, indeed, far and wide, but it was also very close and personal.
Between 2009 and 2015, our crew at Victory School of Wrestling crossed paths with Ben weekly as we were regulars at Steve's Pizza year round. He was an artisan at the most popular pizza joint in town. I can't imagine how many shrimp and gyro pizzas he crafted for athletes, coaches and parents across the road.
I'm sure Ben peeked through the looking glass window from time to time and drew some inspiration from what was happening on that 2nd floor. People were moved by what we were doing because God was moving through us and our mission to impact the lives of others with Victory School of Wrestling wasn't confined to the walls of the wrestling room. It was a global mission and people like Ben fit into what we were doing. Simultaneously, people like Ben fueled our daily activity with encouragement and kindness.
Ben was making an impact on me so that I could impact others. He was a reminder of my audience and that my words mattered. He's a unique piece of the foundation that God used to move the mission.
Erwin McManus wrote the following in The Way of the Warrior:
I have lived too long to believe that these things are just coincidence. The warrior leaves nothing to chance and finds rest in their intention. The way of the warrior moves you into the path of interconnection. The path of the warrior is filled with an array of seemingly random and serendipitous moments. The warrior does not strive to create divine moments but feels confident that when they walk in their intention, those moments will come to them. The warrior's courage comes in that even when they stand alone, they know they are never alone. The warrior knows that when they move in their intention, the universe moves in their direction (page 166).
McManus also wrote, "You are more than you know, so stop underestimating who you are. Who you are does not end at the border of your skin. How you become who you are can be attributed as much to the world around you as the world within you."
Ben had a simple, yet profound, impact on me and, as a result, has been a part of a movement that has reached further than anyone in our sleepy town could have imagined.
Thank you, Ben. May "the Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace."
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