Country Artist Shares the ‘Come to Jesus Moment’ That Brought Him to Music
By Movieguide® Contributor
Warren Zeiders may be a rodeo headlining country star, but that wasn’t always the plan. In an interview with Fox News Digital, Zeiders explained how a failed sports career led him to become a country singer.
“The biggest thing about me is that I have this thing about me: If I care about something and if I invest myself fully into it, nothing will stop me,” he explained. “I am all in, and it is an eat-sleep-and-breathe thing. And that was what I had with lacrosse for 12 years of my life.”
He began the sport in fourth grade, and it became something he loved. In college, he was recruited to play but had to turn the opportunity down due to having several concussions.
Having multiple concussions is very dangerous and can lead to serious consequences including brain damage.
The CDC explains, “There is growing concern about the long-term effects on the brain of people who experience multiple or repeated head impacts. Repeated head impacts include not only head impacts that lead to a mild TBI or concussion, but also head impacts that do not cause the person to feel symptoms after a hit to the head. Collisions while playing sports is one way a person may experience repeated head impacts.”
Zeiders continued, “I went from being told as a freshman that I was going to be getting a bunch of playing time. And that’s why I went there, because I didn’t want to sit on the bench and stuff. And I worked my tail off all those years to get that opportunity.”
After working hard to get back to playing, he faced another concussion.
“And it was such a hard pill to swallow, and I was like, this is not how this is going to go.”
Despite yet another setback, he didn’t give up. He continued to train, but felt uncertain for the future. “I was having this, like, come to Jesus moment where I was praying, and it was just like, hey, is this a sign that this isn’t for me anymore? And I just needed God to give me a sign, and I could just kind of feel that that burning desire and passion was being tamed and kind of becoming like the pilot light. It was becoming dimmer,” he explained.
Related: Country Singer Warren Zeiders Leads Audience in ‘How Great Thou Art’
Ultimately, he had too many concussions and had to walk away from the sport he loved. Although it was difficult, he believed God had a plan.
“It was hard to say goodbye, he said. “You do that for so long, it becomes a part of you. It was hard for my parents. I remember calling my grandfather in tears because my grandparents didn’t miss a single game of my junior and senior year of playing high school lacrosse… I’m a firm believer that God has a plan for everyone, and we all have our own gifts, and some of us find them, find them sooner than others. But I do believe this I was meant to do.”
Movieguide previously reported on how faith has guided Zeiders’ life. “’Faith, family and athletics were the three pillars of my life, long before I started playing music,’ he said. ‘I haven’t forgotten that. I’m always learning new things — if you stop doing that, you stop growing — but I’m staying true to who I am, too.’”
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