Alex Highsmith is a Pittsburgh Steeler, playing for a traditional steel-tough defense in a steel-built city! The veteran linebacker utilizes his skill, stature, and leadership to disrupt opposing offenses! Alex also disrupts the predictable, with a steel foundation to willingly embrace a soulful transformation that ongoingly impacts his life, his game, and what he brings for others! 

Question: “Iron-City, steel, foundation laid, crucibles, fire, turning metal into liquid, shaping and reshaping.  How critical for you, Alex, has that transformation in your life become?”

Alex Highsmith: Yeah, I mean, it's, it's huge. I just thank God that I'm not where I was before. And I just think that's the process of sanctification is an ongoing thing. It’s just an ongoing process, of wanting to become more like Christ. Just like the word says, you know, if we draw near to God, he'll draw near to us and when I start my day in the word and come into work, I have a heavenly perspective in a way to impact someone’s life, to serve him, serve the kingdom.”

Question: “From soul to your game mindset on the field. Is there a correlation and a connection?”

Alex Highsmith: “Yeah, I mean, I think, absolutely! I think just having the perspective that my work is my worship and going out there, it’s always just a reminder to me that He’s blessed with the talents and abilities that I have. The way that I play, the intensity, the passion, the effort that I play with – that’s my worship back to God.  So, I think having that perspective is key.”                                         

Question: “When you express that intimacy to him, how do you feel his back to you?”

Alex Highsmith: “Hmm. When adversity hits and it strikes in a game, it's easy to, you know, you can freak out and could be something going wrong or something like that. But He really keeps me calm and steady throughout the game. And, He’s intimate with me just in the game.”                                                                                                  

Question: “Is there a deep soul satisfaction that mirrors winning?”

Alex Highsmith: “Ultimately, nothing can truly satisfy us like the love of Christ. It is awesome and, and satisfying to, to win games in the NFL and have the goal of the Super Bowl.  We want to get to it, and we, and we want to win. But I think ultimately knowing as a follower of Christ that our ultimate satisfaction, uh, comes from Christ. Football is an amazing game, but it's a terrible God. If we put all our identity in it, it'll let us down at times. And so, continue to rely on him. Through the ups and downs of this game. What matters most is know that I know that I'm a child of God. Because of we we're followers of Christ, he gives us that drive and that passion to want to do great things on the field, go out there and make plays to help the team win.”

Question: “Alex, what do you think is most valued in contagiously bridging relationship with others, in being present with them unconditionally in both their struggle and their success?”

Alex Highsmith: “Just being intentional, uh, with others. Just the way that this business is. Guys are in and out. There are new teams every year. So, in some cases you only have a six-month window with some guys, uh, to be able to build a relationship with them, share Christ with them. So, I think just being really intentional with the time that you have, especially your locker mates, the ones to your left and to your right. I think God places those people beside us for a reason and ¬building relationships is huge. And especially to, to be a great team, you, you got to be tight.”

Question: “The locker cubicle on your left and your right. That's like loving your neighbor?”

Alex Highsmith: “Absolutely. Uh, and like every single day, just knowing that, you have a chance to impact them not just in a football way, um, and help them in way, but also from a spiritual way as well. God has made us to, to, to be in relationship. We're not, you know, the devil thrives in isolation. And so I think God going before us and knowing that he's already there.”

Question: “What is it about being a professional football player that has uncommonly rushed you forward for both a need and desire for divine relationship?” 

Alex Highsmith: “Yeah, I know that I've been given this platform. I've been blessed with this platform to be a blessing to others and not for our own personal gain. Something that, um, I always try to keep in mind. I feel like God is revealing to me, um, day in and day out, that's the reason you're here is to impact souls, you know, for, for the kingdom and to be a blessing to others.”¬

Question: “And when you say God revealing, who, who has Jesus Christ become for you?”  

Alex Highsmith: “He's everything. He’s my savior. He's Lord. I'm not perfect. I mess up daily. But like I said, ‘thank God that I'm not where I was’, that he continues to work in me and refine me. And so, but I just know that if it wasn't for Jesus, I wouldn't be where I am or doing what I'm doing today. I know that he's laid every step for me. I love how we always meet after the game and pray on the 50-yard line. We get the opportunity to go out to the field after the guys that we just battled against and just went to war against. We get to come together, uh, and deflect that glory back to God.”

Question: “What does that look like?” 

Alex Highsmith: “Being bold in in our faith is, is so important. One of my favorite verses is Romans1:16, you know, ‘For I'm unashamed of the gospel’, knowing that especially in this business and this platform, that it's not the popular thing to follow Christ. But we know that's the best thing to do. It's the best way, it's the best road, is through Jesus. That's just the mindset that we have to have is just to be unashamed, especially when trials and tribulations come our way. Um, just be unashamed.”

March 2009. Melissa Justice and her husband Ray were coming back from a cruise when Melissa began experiencing pains in her chest.

“I was 31,” began Melissa, “and I just feel like you don't have a lot of aches and pains. So I didn't really think too much of it.”

Back home, the pains persisted, and Melissa decided to see a doctor. An Ultrasound brought shocking results…

“I'll never forget he said, ‘Normal hearts beat like this,’” Melissa gestured strongly, ‘And yours is barely doing this,’ she showed weakly."

Melissa’s husband Ray added, “That initial shock of ‘something's wrong’ or ‘something's different.’ That knowledge that life is never going to be the same, or potentially never going to be the same again is jarring.”

The diagnosis: Chronic Systolic Heart Failure, a condition where one chamber in the heart can’t pump blood effectively. Melissa’s heart was functioning at only 15% capacity. They put her on medication, but her best hope of survival was a heart transplant. 

“It was like being told, ‘You planned this whole future with your husband, this beautiful family that you had in your mind and this beautiful career that you were working on so hard,’” Melissa said. “It was like having everything ripped out from underneath you.”

After 3 months of medication Melissa’s heart function had gotten worse, dropping to 7%. Needing more specialized care, she was sent to Ohio State University Hospital.

Cardiac Anesthesiologist Dr. Bill Perez noted, “That's bad heart failure and it means that you typically aren't able to do things that you used to do, your normal daily activities. It is a life altering diagnosis even though these days we keep a lot of these heart failure patients alive it's not the same life.”

“We would wake up every morning,” said Melissa, “and we would give ourselves an entire hour where we'd just let ourselves grieve that life that we were losing. After that hour was over, we would come together and we would pray and we would say, you know, ‘We're going to make the best of this day that we can.’"

Melissa had a heart pump implanted in August of that year. Along the way, Melissa started a blog to chronicle her journey and ask for prayer.

“Just tried to take it one day at a time and just tried to trust that God would be with us,” said Melissa. “I did not feel better. I remember actually thinking, ‘I cannot believe the human body can take this much pain.’ Kept thinking, ‘Maybe tomorrow I'll feel better,’ but months after the surgery I still was feeling very rough.”

“What's the future going to hold,” Ray questioned. “What's it going to look like? Will my wife still even be here in six months; will I need to plan a funeral?”

After Four months of little improvement, it seemed a transplant was still the best option. After passing the candidacy test with perfect numbers, Melissa was put at the top of the transplant list, but only for 30 days.

On January 10th, 2010, the last day of her eligibility, a suitable heart became available. Melissa was wheeled in for surgery that night.

“The best-case scenario was I was going to get this transplant and it was going to be fantastic.” Melissa said, “And I was trying to prepare for the worst at the same time, trying to do both. And I wanted to truly honor God. Whether I passed or whether I lived, I wanted to honor God in whatever I did.”

Meanwhile, Ray was praying. “Praying for strength for her. For as good of a recovery as we could expect. You know, if things did not go as planned you know, the grace to get through that, the strength to get through those outcomes.”

“Dr. Perez comes out in, two to three hours was the timeframe and we just all freeze, in the waiting room.” Ray continued, “Either something's really, really good or something's really, really bad.”

“So I woke up, I thought, ‘Well, I feel better than I thought I'd feel the first time, but I had only had like open heart was my first surgery so I expected to feel a lot worse than I felt,’” said Melissa. “So when Ray came in he said ‘Honey, you didn't get the transplant.’ And I was liked ‘Oh, man, the heart was bad?’ And Ray said, ‘No, honey, your heart is better, God healed your heart. You didn't need the transplant.’"

Moments after Melissa was put under, her anesthesiologist Dr. Perez, decided to do one final test. What he saw he couldn’t explain.

“I put the probe in,” said Dr. Perez, “and what I see is a heart that is almost, but not quite, completely normal in its squeeze. I kept looking at this heart that was banging away virtually normally, and she's not on any supportive drugs at all. The surgeon looked at that heart, saw what I saw and said, ‘I can't give her a heart that works better than this.’"

Melissa shared, “The morning of my not transplant I remember my surgeon coming in and he said ‘Melissa, we have no idea what made you sick and we have no idea what's made you better.’ And we said, ‘We do.’ We knew.”

Months later, the pump was removed.  Today, after more than a decade, Melissa’s heart is still going strong. And while it is not quite 100%, she’s still able to be the active, mother of two adopted boys and loving wife, that God has called her to be. 

“It's still tough some days,” Melissa admitted, “but it's life. I still wake up in the morning and I say, ‘Thank you God, for healing my heart.’"

Dr. Perez ended with, “Seeing Melissa today, over 10 years later, still with her own heart, living a normal life – it’s just a privilege to have been a part of it.”

“We’ve seen the Lord work, right? We know miracles happen, right,” said Ray. “We read about them in the Bible. But to see one, to see something so tangible happen was amazing.”

“I have a beautiful life,” Melissa proclaimed, “a very full life, and I have life, which is the best part.”

Naserian is a widow who lives with her 5 children in Kenya.
 
“One Sunday, while we were in church, someone came in and said my house was on fire.  I went home as quickly as I could, and found our house burned to the ground.  My stomach twisted in agony.  I was too late to salvage anything.  All of our comforts and belongings were gone, and my children were no longer safe without a roof over their heads.  I felt so hopeless, and I cried out to God.” Naserian
 
Homeless and desperate, Naserian and her children were forced to seek shelter in their old, cramped kitchen area—a space barely fit for cooking, let alone living.
 
“The smoke from the smoldering open fire irritated our eyes and made us cough, but we had no choice but to stay there. In the midst of our struggles, I did not understand why our home burned down, but I drew closer to God.” Naserian
 
When Operation Blessing learned about what happened to Naserian and her children,  we built them a brand-new house, equipped with solar lights, and a separate kitchen area and bathroom.
 
“We were so happy and excited! We couldn’t wait to get into our new house! I longed so much to spend time with my children enjoying the comforts of our own home again. That was my greatest desire! Now we have an even better house than we had before!  We have four rooms, a bathroom, and a kitchen. It’s such a big house! God does not come down from Heaven himself, He uses His people to bless someone. And so, I know God used Operation Blessing supporters to restore our lives by giving us a new home. Thank you so much, and God bless you!” Naserian.

In the heart of Myanmar, a young girl named Chay had never experienced the power of connecting with God through prayer. Her life changed dramatically when she discovered Superbook, a series that brings Bible stories to life through animation.

Chay’s journey began with the episode “Peter's Escape.” This story captivated her imagination and introduced her to the concept of prayer. She learned that prayer is a powerful tool, especially in times of sadness and need. Inspired by Peter’s miraculous escape from prison, Chay began to pray. “I decided to pray every day in my life,” she shared, reflecting her newfound commitment.

Before watching Superbook, Chay struggled with remembering her school lessons. However, after learning about the importance of prayer, she began praying for help with her studies. “[When] I prayed to remember the school text when reading, God made me remember,” she said. This small but significant change boosted her confidence and academic performance.

The impact of Superbook extended beyond her studies. When her mother had to travel back to their village, Chay prayed for her safety. She felt a deep sense of peace knowing that God was watching over her mother. “God protected her as I prayed for safety,” she recounted. This experience strengthened her faith and trust in God’s protection.

Chay’s faith was further tested when her mother fell ill. She turned to prayer once again, asking God for healing. Miraculously, her mother recovered. “When I prayed for her to be healed, God gave her the opportunity to be healed,” she said with gratitude. This reinforced her belief in the power of prayer and God’s mercy.

Her prayers also extended to her father, who was living in the village. Concerned for his health, Chay prayed for his well-being. “As I prayed for my father to be healthy in the village, God gave him the chance to live a healthy life,” she shared. These experiences solidified her understanding of prayer’s importance and power.

Through Superbook, Chay discovered a new way to connect with God and experience His love. The stories brought the Bible to life, making its lessons accessible and relatable. Chay’s story is just one example of how Superbook is changing lives around the world. By bringing the Word of God to children in a way they can understand and relate to, Superbook is fostering spiritual growth and transformation.

You can be a part of this incredible mission. By donating to CBN Animation’s Superbook ministry through the link below, sharing Chay’s story, or accessing Superbook resources for your own family, you can help extend this ministry to even more children and families. Join us in spreading the message of hope and faith through the powerful stories of the Bible.

Together, we can make a difference in the lives of children like Chay, helping them discover the power of prayer and the love of Jesus.

Give to Superbook