Skol, Setbacks, and God’s Greater Story
This past weekend was special. I got to spend it with my older brother — a rare treat for us. We made the trek to the Twin Cities, played a round of golf, and even caught a Twins game (perk of the Twins stinking this year: $25 seats in the 8th row). But the real highlight came Sunday: our first time at U.S. Bank Stadium for a Vikings game.
Growing up in neighboring North Dakota, we were basically born into the despair that is being a Vikings fan. At different points I tried to jump ship — I even rooted for the Packers for a stretch when Brett Favre was slinging it — but eventually I circled back (Yes… I do have a Favre Vikings jersey). Through high school and college I stuck with the Vikings, and each letdown just chipped away a little more of my fanhood.
Then my friend Carson Wentz became the quarterback of the Eagles, and for the last ten years it’s honestly been easier to cheer for whichever team he’s been a part of. I mean I did live in Philadelphia for a couple of years when I worked for his AO1 Foundation.
So for my brother and me, sitting together in U.S. Bank Stadium watching Carson run out of the tunnel as the starting quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings — the team we grew up cheering (and suffering) for — was surreal.
And honestly, it stirred something in me. As a kid, I also dreamed of being the Vikings quarterback. (Still waiting for my call. Don’t count me out just yet.)
But unlike my still-undefeated QB career, Carson’s path has been anything but straight. He’s now started for six different NFL teams in six seasons. That means six cities, six locker rooms, six coaching staffs. Along the way, he’s been traded twice, released, and just this year, went unsigned through the preseason. None of that was part of the plan he dreamed up as a boy in North Dakota, imagining himself running out of the tunnel in purple and gold.
And yet, there he was — wearing the #11 jersey he once wore as a kid, only this time it didn’t say Culpepper on the back, it said Wentz.
Proverbs 19:21 (NLT) says, “You can make many plans, but the Lord’s purpose will prevail.”
Carson didn’t plan this. He didn’t plan the trades, the transitions, or the uncertainty. But God had a purpose through it all. And if I’ve learned anything from his journey, it’s that trusting God’s purpose over my own plans is always the winning strategy.
It made me wonder: what dreams have we quietly set aside because the plan didn’t work out? A marriage that feels stuck. A child you love deeply, but you just don’t know what to do for them right now. A calling or career that feels closed off.
Plans change. But God’s purpose always prevails.
I thought back to 2016, when Taylor and I flew to Philly to see Carson during his rookie year — ironically, against the Vikings. Back then, Carson hadn’t even met his wife, Maddie, yet. Taylor and I were newly married, no kids. The AO1 Foundation I’d eventually work for didn’t even exist yet. Everything in our lives felt fresh, wide open, and full of possibility. We were watching a friend just beginning his journey, taking his some of his first snaps in the NFL, and in many ways we felt like we were just taking our first steps into adulthood too.
Fast forward nearly a decade. Carson and Maddie are now married with three daughters (and another on the way). Taylor and I have three kids of our own. Careers have shifted, dreams have been tested, moves have been made, and life has gotten far more complicated. Yet there I was again, back in the stands — watching Carson do what God created him to do. Only this time, it wasn’t just about potential or beginnings. It was about faithfulness through the long road, perseverance in the face of setbacks, and the beauty of seeing God’s purpose unfold over time.
Seeing Carson on the sideline before the game, greeting his wife and daughters, was a powerful reminder for me. Different season. Different plan. But the same God, the same purpose, and the same faithfulness guiding it all. God’s purpose always prevails.
