What's Your Scar?

Charles McMillan is the youngest coach on the A&M staff and apparently one of the most talented. Many believe that if our current defensive coordinator were to retire that McMillan would take his spot. The thing is that McMillan doesn’t want any part of that.

He has a goal and it’s to be a head football coach/AD for a highschool. For those of you who don’t know that is a huge paycut 50% or more. The thing is McMillan doesn’t coach for the money; McMillan loves kids. He wants to change lives.
When you delve into his past you find that McMillan is the oldest of seven children. He was a sophomore in highschool when his mother murdered his father and was given a 25 year prison sentence. Then McMillan was described as a role model student who was a father to his siblings and always carried a smile on his face. Today he takes the most painful part of his childhood and uses it to help kids. It’s truly inspiring.

We all have painful trials and we will all go through more as we move through life. These scars hurt, but eventually we find a way to get past it and heal. We learn something. We now have a gift; we have a painful experience and some tools to deal with the situation. And an ability to empathize with those who are struggling through the same trial. It’s why McMillan does what he does. He has turned his pain into a gift.

My parents divorce was a painful time for me; it was right before my sixth grade year. I moved to a new part of town and was running low on self confidence. Football and band were my outlets as I went through those junior high years. It was real tough. I remember feeling lonely and abandoned at times. That scarred me and I healed from that. I now teach Sixth Grade Sunday School because I know there are kids there going through the same thing. They want someone who understands. Because of my pain I can be that guy.

What’s your scar? How can you turn it into a blessing? All of us are unique and have different ways we can relate to people. McMillan went through a terrible time and has created a career and a passion.