Do You Hear Voices?

     That’s me standing next to all 6’11” of Ervin Johnson at a volunteer gig where he kept us hustling as we sacked food for kids. Some people claim you’re loony if you listen to “voices," but not Ervin. He didn’t play basketball in high school. Then while working at a Baton Rouge supermarket for nearly three years after graduating, something strange happened - he grew eight inches. One day at work he heard a voice: “Go. Back. To. School.”     
     Ervin says, “I looked around, and no one was there.”     
     He learned that the University of New Orleans basketball team needed some height, so he approached the coach. That meeting “was a divine appointment because it was the last day he could sign players.” The coach awarded him a scholarship, but warned that Ervin had a lot of catching up to do.     
     Ervin hit the gym at 6 a.m. to learn the game. Hard work paid off, and eventually he led the Privateers to three conference championships and two NCAA tournament appearances. After that, he played center for NBA teams in Seattle, Denver, Milwaukee, and Minnesota.     
     He sensed that after he retired professionally he’d have another calling. “God showed me this in a dream; I was standing in front of kids and talking.” And that’s what has happened. He’s a Denver Nuggets Community Ambassador and coaches the EJ Hoops Basketball Club. “It’s more than just basketball,” Ervin says. “It’s about life lessons.”     
     So perhaps we’d better pay attention when we get "nudges." The Master Coach may be handing out directions.