Barrett Brooks

Barrett and Sonji Brooks, newlyweds of about a year and half, came to the Christian life from different directions. For Sonji, a native of South Philadelphia, Catholic schools led to a lot a questions, a spiritual search that included an experience with Islam, and when she was 17, a return to the church.

It seemed like the Lord had plans for me to do his bidding

For Barrett, who grew up in the tough Kenlock area of St. Louis, it was only "by the Grace of God that I got out of that situation, the gangs and drugs." But God’s help was exactly what his mother hoped for when she declared at his birth, "I’m going to give him to you, Lord."
From the day forth, Barrett says, his path was clear: "It seemed like the Lord had plans for me to do his bidding and He would be Lord over my life. He was just so much involved in my life that I couldn’t do anything but follow His Word."

When he went to college at Kansas State, his mother put Isaiah 41 in his helmet. Even though he didn’t know what the verse said, every year his mother would put the verse in his helmet. Then he realized, it was the Lord telling him his purpose: The verse was, "You will fly with wings of eagles," and sure enough, he was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles.

Now, says Barrett, the "biggest challenge is knowing how to listen and hear what God is making me do in my life as far as with my family, my wife, football and my daily walk. I have to hear what He has to say and not interpret it my way but interpret it His way. That goes for how you interact with your wife and your children, too. Are you thinking Christ-like or are you just thinking because you want it to be this way?"

For Sonji, being in the NFL limelight adds some extra pressure. "There are just certain things," she says, "that now that I am saved, I just don’t want to do anymore. So if we’re invited somewhere and there is drinking and smoking and partying, I feel very uncomfortable. If someone sees us, it would be like ‘they are so-called Christians.’"

It’s like you have to respect yourself and your Christianity, and uphold what you are about.