Mark McKenzie Testimony

Trying to fight through McKenzie. Oh! I think in my career, I've always pushed so hard. I've been so self-critical. Oh, what a block! Wow, McKenzie! I've always been somebody who wants to do things perfectly. Oh! Mark McKenzie with a scorcher! Yeah, I'm not perfect. I'm just a man, but I'm a man who truly loves the Lord. Mark McKenzie! Defending is easy for him. And I think that conviction is what's gotten me to where I am. My dad's an immigrant from Jamaica, came to America with little to nothing, and my mother worked for everything she ever had in her life. I come from two parents who put their head down and make it happen, but ultimately understand that our source is in the Lord himself. And in that space, in that environment, I was introduced to the Lord. At that age, you're still trying to figure it out. You don't know exactly. You still have so much influence from your parents, and as you get older, you start to navigate those waters between friend groups, between sports teams, making teams, not making teams. I think through all of that, my dad always reminded me that my identity isn't in what I do, it's in the Lord himself. I think being reminded of that at a young age gave me a lot of centeredness. As I got older, got to experience the youth academy in Philadelphia, Being part of the youth national team and traveling, I ended up going on to Wake Forest after I finished my time at Philly's Academy. Went to Wake Forest for a few months, realized that I wanted to be professional. I learned that, you know, God will allow you to walk through things, but he won't always bless things because I was striving in the wrong way. Moving to Europe, I experienced that firsthand. Not being able to play, being away from family and loved ones. During COVID trying to fill so much of my time with things that I thought were going to take the stress off of the lack of control that I had. I had to release a lot, whether it was playing time, whether it was family and loved ones, whether it was ambitions that I thought were for me. It was in March of 2021, and I was sitting in my room and I was just crying my eyes out. It felt like I had hit a wall. Wall. I didn't know what to do. I didn't know where to go. I didn't know— I felt like that was crucial for me to get to the point of where I am today, recognizing that my career and this thing called soccer is just the vessel that He's blessed me with the ability to play. But ultimately, the biggest thing is His Kingdom. That surrender was extremely difficult. When I think back to, I give you a prime example, the 2022 World Cup, when I felt like things were going so well and I prayed, "Oh Lord, you know, this is it, this is it. Yes, Lord. You know, please, please, please, Father." And he said, "No." Being left out of that squad showed me a lot and it gave me that opportunity to truly surrender. It was, going through each and every day and laying it down to Him, going through each day with excellence, but understanding that my performance or that, you know, what I, what I do, whether it's on the field, is not going to be the determining factor for anything. Ultimately, it is, am I representing Him at the highest level possible within each space that I am stepping into? I flash forward 3, 4 years later, and I look back on that season of surrender. And now it's where I am now, where it's truly about what His will is for my life. I'm here in France now. I've been in Belgium. I've been in Spain. I've been in the Netherlands. If I'm not making disciples of those places that I've been, then am I truly doing the work? Now even more so, I am trying to— when guys feel themselves falling back into an old pattern, you know, being somebody they can call, I am a vessel for Him, and when I go and represent the national team, I'm not representing just myself. I'm representing Him first and foremost, representing my family and loved ones, and who have sacrificed so much to help me get to where I am today. The kingdom is the ultimate destination. Ultimately, you know, I have full confidence in our team to go out and represent all those who are supporting us to the fullest of our ability and to, to represent, you know, our Lord and our Savior who bless us with this platform. That love he has for me is what spurs me on each and every day. Um, you know, I wouldn't be here without him. I His forgiveness, His mercy, which I don't deserve, His grace, which I don't deserve. But nonetheless, He has put me here for a reason, and I will stand on that until the day I die. I will continue to spread His love, to spread His gospel, to spread His truth. And when He calls me up, pray He looks at me and says, "Well done, good and faithful servant." And that is what, in this season of surrender, I am striving for.