A Message for Leah

I’M A PERSON OF FAITH, THOUGH there have been times I’ve felt disconnected from God. Like when injuries threatened to de-rail my NFL career. I’d remember what my grandma told me when she was dragging me to church as a kid back in Wilmington, Delaware. “The good Lord speaks to all of us, Devon, but you’re never going to hear him if you don’t open your ears and listen.”

I grew up and joined a church of my own, and while I felt closer to God, it still seemed as if I was doing all the talking. I tried not to take it personally—until Leah, my sweet four-year-old daughter, got sick with cancer. I really needed to hear directly from him then.

Leah had to undergo four grueling rounds of a combined radiation/chemo treatment. People around the world, moved by the story of a pro football player fighting to help his critically ill daughter, were praying for her. It wasn’t enough. The