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Darryl Strawberry: Turn Your Season Around

Identity Crisis

With four World Series titles and eight All-Star game appearances, Darryl was extremely successful in his MLB career, but his personal life was filled with challenges. Darryl struggled with a lifelong identity crisis that was fueled by his alcoholic father. The rejection he felt drove him to prove his worth as a professional baseball player. Yet all of the success he encountered could not fill the emptiness inside of him. He pursued the wrong things which led to addictions, abuse, divorces, and jail-time.

In 1991, a relative suggested Darryl go to a Morris Cerullo convention. Darryl went to the event and got saved but continued to remain a slave to his sinful desires for the next 15 years. His behavior did not change until he discovered the true meaning and purpose of his new life.

Darryl met his wife Tracy in 2003 at a Narcotics Anonymous convention. They were both divorced twice, unemployed, battling addiction, and fighting for sobriety. Broken as they were, they fell in love and got married in 2006. Tracy’s love for God inspired Darryl to pursue a deeper relationship with Him. Although they admit that they have, “made every possible mistake you can make in a marriage” they worked through their issues and were able to forgive each other and turn their relationship into a success. In 2011, Darryl cofounded Strawberry Ministries. He and Tracy, travel the country speaking and bringing a message of hope and restoration in Christ.

Following God's Lead 

In the game of baseball, with fewer than two outs in an inning, a batter can drive in a runner from third base by hitting a long fly ball for an out. This is called a sacrifice fly. The batter gets credited with an RBI. In life, when you sacrifice your agenda, plans, or desires for what God desires, you stand to gain infinitely more or realities beyond imagination (RBI). Darryl shares how he was selected for season nine of the NBC television series, The Celebrity Apprentice. He opted to do the show to help raise awareness for a charity that he and his wife supported to help children with autism. Three weeks into the show, Darryl asked the show’s producer, Donald Trump, to fire him. He wanted to leave the show because behind the scenes the television series was an environment reminiscent of the life Darryl had forsaken to follow Jesus. To remain faithful in his Christian walk and flee temptation, he voluntarily resigned from the show. Out of respect for his personal convictions, the show’s producer donated $25,000 to the charity for autistic children.

Two years later, God told Darryl to close his restaurant, Strawberry Sports Grill, in Queens, New York, where business was booming. His celebrity status had been revived and investment partners wanted to expand the business into surrounding neighborhoods. The money would be helpful for his personal finances since his previous addictions had rendered him several million dollars in debt. Instead of expanding the business, God wanted Darryl to walk away from it so he would trust more in Him and less in himself. Darryl obeyed and began to pursue God’s call on his life to preach the Gospel.

Responses = Life Changing Results 

“God must become the center of your life, and His ways should be the measure of everything you do,” reveals Darryl. You can recalibrate your relationship with God by applying the following faith filled responses that produce life changing results:

  • Receive God’s grace – Coming to faith in Christ does not immediately solve all your problems and cure all your ills. Darryl uses the acronym SIN to describe self-indulgence now. Every time you choose your way over God’s way it will cost you. “My sins cost me two failed marriages and millions of dollars in fines and penalties. Incarceration and multiple stints in rehab for cocaine addiction and alcoholism destroyed relationships and robbed me of years of peace and purpose,” shares Darryl. It is only when you accept the free gift of God’s GRACE (God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense) that you experience freedom from sin.
  • Redefine your identity – Obeying God’s word empowers you to overcome your fears and insecurities. It builds your faith and gives you wisdom and courage to trust God more in every decision you make. When God called Darryl to be an evangelist he resisted because he felt inadequate. The Holy Spirit reminded him that God doesn’t call the qualified; He qualifies the called. Darryl came to realize that God had been preparing him over a seven-year period of studying the scriptures, praying, meditating on His Word and learning how to daily surrender control of his life to God’s perfect plan.
  • Renew your mind – The world’s way of thinking is guided by counterfeit truths and vain ambition. Therefore, renew your mind by reading the Bible so you can know what God’s good, acceptable, and perfect plan is for your life.
  • Reveal your scars - When Darryl posts photos from his past on social media he is not proud of his mistakes, but he is also no longer embarrassed. He reveals, “I post these photos to show that I once was lost, but now I’m found. I was blind but now I see. I don’t glory in my shame, but instead I seek to give God the glory for giving me new life in Christ.” Darryl shares his story to help others know that God can do the same for them. He has been clean for over 15 years and Tracy for over 20 years.
  • Release God’s grace – Forgiveness comes from the Spirit of God living inside you. Your willingness to forgive others and seek others’ forgiveness are evidence that you trust in the finished work of Christ on the cross.
  • Reflect God’s heart – The ability to reflect God’s heart in any circumstance is a supernatural response birthed out of the Holy Spirit’s presence in your life. Darryl experienced godly sorrow when he became a Christian. And when Darryl sought his father’s forgiveness for his bitterness toward him for abandoning him both he and his dad cried as Jesus healed both their hearts.
  • Reclaim God’s best – When God transforms you from the inside out, He also enables you to live excellently for His glory while you are here on earth.
  • Restore God’s peace – When you persevere in prayer and put on the full armor of God daily you take your focus off your circumstances and instead focus on God who is in control of your situation.
  • Rejoice always – Darryl is thankful for his new identity in Christ. No matter what season of life you are in you can always rejoice for God is good. Darryl uses his social media platform to rejoice in the Lord and encourage others with God’s word.
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