There comes a time when God calls for one to join His great Kingdom. No one ever knows when that time will be. It could be tomorrow, seven days from now, six months into the future or even years. We all just have a number anyway. And while we don't know that exact number, God does. He put us on this earth and He is the only one that knows when He is going to take us.
He made us all individuals and what we choose to do with what He gave us, that is up to us. Most of us are just ordinary everyday people. Others are celebrities, be them singers, performers, comics, actors, actresses and even sport figures. The latter is the purpose of this blog.

Sport figures have all been a custom of this great world. We have many. Many that will become idols and heroes. Take Michael Jordan for instance. He is a hero to many young aspiring boys that want to make basketball a living. Mia Hamm is another hero for young women who want to venture into soccer. But sometimes, like all of us will meet death one day, God takes everyday heroes from people who idolize them. Often times, He takes them while they participate in the sport in which they have chosen to make a career. A great example of this is the late Dale Earnhardt, Sr. In February of 2001, God chose to end "The Intimidator's" life by taking him in the season opener for NASCAR, the Daytona 500. We all watched in wonder that day, but we had no idea that it would be the day that God would take the greatest NASCAR driver ever near the end of it.

God chose to take another sports figure this weekend. His name was Scott Kalitta. Yeah, many of you probably do not know who he was. Scott Kalitta was a NHRA drag racer. First, he was a Top Fuel drag racer and then he retired. He came out of retirement years ago to try his run at Funny Car. He never was a Funny Car champion, but he was a two-time Top Fuel champion. This past Saturday, Scott Kalitta lost his life in a racing accident on the track. I was watching it when it happened. I knew the worst had happened. Instantly, I thought back to February of 2001 when I watched God take the seven time NASCAR champion, Dale Earnhardt, Sr. from the racing world. This weekend, God wanted another racing champion to join his Kingdom. He chose Scott Kalitta.

While death is one thing that none of us can avoid, it is something that some of us will find a blessing. We understand when one is sick with a terminal illness that death is inevitable and we come to terms with that and pray to God that that person will soon be out of the hurt here on earth. But, sometimes, as in the case with the racing accident that took Scott Kalitta's life, we have a hard time understanding why God would want to do that when Scott Kalitta had his whole life still in front of him to live. We will never know the answer to that. We just have to trust in God that He knew what he was doing.

Individuals that decide to make a sports career out of racing, be it NASCAR, INDY, Formula One, or NHRA drag racing, know that they risk their lives every time they get on the track. Dale Earnhardt, Sr. knew that. And Scott Kalitta knew that also. It's a risk they take to drive 200MPH, but in the case of Scott Kalitta, his would be driving a funny car over 300MPH, sometimes 330MPH. In any case, they know the consequences of entering such a dangerous sport. But it's the love of that sport that called them. It was the love of NASCAR that called Dale Earnhardt, Sr to be the seven time NASCAR champion. It was also the love of NHRA drag racing that called Scott Kalitta to be the Top Fuel champion twice. As one would say, it was in their blood. And it was competing in those types of sports where they died doing what they loved to do.

So, while we make role models out of whoever we want too, it's those people themselves that make them champions in what they do. It just so happens that God wants them too. He took a sports champion from us in 2001, and on Saturday, he took another champion from us in the form of Scott Kalitta. Now they both race for the greatest "Champion" of all.