Episode 25: Faith, Basketball & Purpose with Former WNBA Player Megan Freeman (nee’ Huff)

Jacob Phaneuf: Welcome to the Truth in Love podcast with your host, Kimberly Faith. The Truth in Love podcast seeks to present God’s timeless truth through the lens of his remarkable love.

Kimberly Faith: Welcome back to the Truth in Love podcast, and I have a dear new friend, Megan Freeman, who I guess we met around Christmas, didn’t we? 

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Yes.

Kimberly Faith:  And, welcome to the show. 

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Thank you for having me. 

Kimberly Faith: Absolutely.  And I’m very honored that you granted us this interview because I know that your life and time is precious. You have two small children and a husband, and are very busy. And so thank you for taking the time on Saturday to visit with me. So by way of introduction, since I’ve met you and I know some things about you, I want to introduce you to our audience. You are a former WNBA basketball player. Is that right? 

Megan (Huff) Freeman:  Yes. That’s right.

Kimberly Faith: And you got your start, at both the University of Hawaii and the University of Iowa. And had an impressive career. Utah. Sorry.

You had an impressive career. I mean,  you were, I just looked up some stats on you, you know, since you’re famous, I mean, I had to look you up on Wikipedia. I like to tease, so you just have to put up with me. Okay? And you  actually went to the University of Hawaii as a two sport athlete, and they quote you as having a goal to play pro volleyball. Was that right? 

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Yes. I actually wanted to be one of the first players to play professional volleyball and basketball. But going into Hawaii, I was just going to play volleyball. I was going to leave basketball in the past, but then God had his feelers in the mix to get me back into basketball.

Kimberly Faith: Well, you know, I’m a volleyball girl at heart.  I quit playing at age 50, so that, you know, that should tell you something about how crazy I am. But I really admire the fact that you did both. I mean, that’s huge in a D one school. And, I just kind of let people know just how good you are. I’m going to read some of your stats not to embarrass you. I mean, not all of the stats, just a few. But you were playing both the varsity basketball and volleyball teams. You were named UH’s rookie of the year on both teams in two consecutive years. Is that right?

Megan (Huff) Freeman: The first year I was rookie of the year for, like, the University of Hawaii, just their athletic program.

Kimberly Faith:  Okay. And then you were named the Big West sixth oh, that’s right. You wouldn’t be a rookie their second year. That’s a ding dong. Sorry. We have lots of ding dong moments on this show, just so you know. But then you were named the Big West six player of the year, in basketball in your second season, and you led your team in double doubles, blocks, and earned the Big West six player of the year honors for your second consecutive year. Is that right? 

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Yes.

Kimberly Faith:  Wow. That’s impressive. So then why did you transfer to the University of Utah?

Megan (Huff) Freeman: When I let volleyball go, I decided that I wanted to go and play basketball at a higher school, a Pac Twelve school that had higher competition every night.

Kimberly Faith: Okay. Yeah. Hawaii’s kind of isolated, isn’t it?

Megan (Huff) Freeman: It was an amazing school and I loved it. I went there mostly for volleyball though because they were a really great volleyball school. They’re known for their volleyball program. Dave Shoji is one of the, I think when I was there, he was the winningest coach in the NCAA, so he was a legend.

Kimberly Faith: Wow. Well, so when you transferred to Utah, then you just focused on basketball.

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Yes. That is correct. And so I had a red shirt year, and that was my first time just focusing on one sport.

Kimberly Faith: I was impressed when I was reading some of the information that’s out on the World Wide Web about you. They called you the quiet superstar. And in the two seasons in Utah, you scored over a thousand points and were named to the all Pac twelve team twice. That’s impressive.

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Thank you.

Kimberly Faith: So after college, then you went on to get drafted in the WNBA. So and then you ended up actually in Europe playing basketball. Tell us about that.

Megan (Huff) Freeman: It was an amazing experience. All of every step, I could see God in the mix. He was really divinely putting people into my life that put me in the right places to get to where I was at. I think from a young age, the quiet superstar part of it, I always had the fruits of the spirit within me just because of having the holy spirit in me. I was always the, like, quieter person on the court. I like to be, like, very humble. I wasn’t trying to be all flashy.

Kimberly Faith: You weren’t talking smack like me?

Megan (Huff) Freeman:  No. Not much. So from a young age, I didn’t really have that in my life, people always told me I needed to be more aggressive, and I needed to score more, and I needed to do all these things that are about me, me, me. 

Kimberly Faith: Right. 

Megan (Huff) Freeman: And I always wanted to be more about the team and more about, sharing the light, basically. 

Kimberly Faith:  Right. Yeah. That’s pretty unique. I think that, but let me ask you this. When were you saved? When were you born again?

Megan (Huff) Freeman: So I was baptized when I was young. So I grew up in a Christian home. My mom was a Christian. My dad was not. They got divorced when I was young. And so I would go back and forth from houses, and that’s kind of how my life went afterwards. I would dive back into the word of God, and then I would go back into the world and get carried away.

Kimberly Faith: Yeah. That had to be very confusing for a child to go back and forth between anything goes and, oh, here are the rules we’re going to live by because these are God’s rules.

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Right. And I like the structure. I did. I liked being under my mom’s, like, structure of the Bible and Christianity and the laws. But then when I would go to my dad’s house, I also enjoyed, like, tiptoeing into the world and seeing what I could do and experiencing things.

Kimberly Faith: Right. And, you know, that kind of reminds me of when we teach the human design, body, soul, and spirit, even after we’re born again, which you were born again, I guess, at a younger age?

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Yeah. So that’s when I was first baptized, and I knew Christ, and I knew that he was doing things in my life. And I could see him working through my career and everything, but I would always go back into the world. And I would, like, have boyfriends and do all these things in the world, drinking and smoking and doing all, like, everything under the sun and partying, whatever else. 

Kimberly Faith: Right.

Megan (Huff) Freeman: And so then after I had my daughter is when I got baptized in my own, kind of it was my choice, rather than when I was nine years old. It was more so, like, we just go to church and this is just a part of life.

Kimberly Faith:  Right. 

Megan (Huff) Freeman: So once I was older, I made the decision, like, I’m going to do this and I’m not going to go back to the world. I’m going to choose Christ.

Kimberly Faith: You know, you use some interesting words, and I want to, just because one of the goals in this program is called Truth In Love because we want to make sure people have the truth, and we want  that truth to ride on the wings of love. And a lot of times, one of the things I hear that confuses people that are in my office or whatever is I’ll ask them, when were you born again? They’ll say, well, I was baptized. And just to be clear, when you say that, you received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior before you were baptized. Is that I mean, am I saying that correctly? Because we know baptism doesn’t save us.

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Right. Right.

Kimberly Faith: It’s just an outward manifestation of what’s happened inside and an open declaration, so to speak, that Jesus Christ is your Lord and Savior. And so you’re saying you did that when you were nine, but you weren’t really, are you saying you weren’t really sure if that was the real deal? 

Megan (Huff) Freeman:  Yes. So when I was nine, again, it was more of a family, like, it was one of those, again, your family did it, so you’re kind of going into it the same way.  It’s just a part of your life. And then when I was in high school is actually when I, like, said the Lord’s prayer, and I, like, received God into my life as my own walk.

Kimberly Faith: Well, your own Lord and savior.

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Yes. Correct. And then I did that, like, a couple of times because I was always unsure. Am I really saved? Is this really a thing? So whenever the pastor would come up and I hadn’t been to church for a while, I would always, like, resay it again under my breath or whatever just to make sure.

Kimberly Faith: And, you know, I have a similar experience. You know, it was, you know, when my parents left the hippie lifestyle and came into the church lifestyle, it was much different, obviously. And so, of course, I was afraid of hell, which, you know, I mean, that’s a healthy fear. But until I actually surrendered for myself to the lordship of Christ and received his gift of salvation with a heart of repentance, meaning I don’t want to go back to that lifestyle. That’s, I think, the moment that I was born again and became God’s child and then I was, of course, baptized after. But I wanted to clarify that because I know you and I have talked about this, and that’s what you meant.

It just sometimes wasn’t, you know, it’s not as clear because  that milestone was, the stone is typically marked by baptism. 

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Yes. Yes. Yeah. 

Kimberly Faith: So at some point, you did trust Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, and you did receive him into your heart. And, you know, there was a change, although there’s still the flesh. Right?

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Right. Right. 

Kimberly Faith: We’ve all battled with that. 

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Yes. 

Kimberly Faith: So, at what point in your career, your basketball career, did you have your first child?

Megan (Huff) Freeman: It was towards the end of my career. I was in my second season. I just got back from overseas. I’d met my husband now. While I was overseas, I was in a situation that was very unhealthy when I was overseas.

So I was kind of looking for a breath of fresh air. And my husband was a believer, or he is a believer. And we started talking as I was overseas. He started sharing with me that he only listens to Christian music and all of these things that were really, like, appealing to me at the time because I had only been really around other athletes who were also doing the same things as I was listening to worldly music and, just very in the world. So that was very appealing to me, but I also was a professional athlete. And I was like, well, I want to be with a professional athlete, so I’m not going to settle for this or whatever. And, so I was kind of entertaining it. And then once I got home, he took me on a couple of dates, and I started to see that he was really a gentleman. And we had a lot of things in common, and I could see myself being with him, but, again,  I was still playing very hard to get. And then 

Kimberly Faith: What? 

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Yeah. And so, after we started dating, we went on, like, a little vacation, just us, and that’s when I ended up getting pregnant. And so I was in the process of making a decision where I was going to go next.

I was either going to go to a team in Italy or in Turkey, and my agents had just called me. And, I was like, I’m a little bit late on my cycle, and so I should probably go and get a pregnancy test before I make a decision on where I want to go. So we went in and I got a pregnancy test done, and I found out I was pregnant. And for me, there was no other choice but to keep the child because I made the decision to sleep around before marriage. 

Kimberly Faith: Right.

Megan (Huff)Freeman: For me, I was fully committed to whatever the next step of life was going to be.

Kimberly Faith: So it’s interesting because the organization that you and I met through was the Free Women’s Center, which is a pregnancy resource center for people who have a child, or pregnant. And, you know,  I think that the decision, how important do you think it is, and this is a little bit off topic, but to have this place where women who don’t have the support system you had, can have help in making the decision to keep their child.

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Oh, I think it’s so important, and that’s a part of my testimony in my heart now is for women who have a similar experience because I was in a place where all the odds were kind of not in my favor.

Kimberly Faith:  Right. 

Megan (Huff) Freeman: In regards to keeping the child. Like, my career was just starting. I had everything lined up. My money, my everything was through basketball, and I could no longer play. Like, so I didn’t have insurance. I didn’t have a place to live. I didn’t have a job now. Like, I was with this guy for only a month. I didn’t know if I wanted to be with him.

Kimberly Faith:  And this is your husband you’re talking about.

Megan (Huff) Freeman: So at that time, I did not know very much about my life, and so I was very confused and very embarrassed and ashamed of where I was at. But, I knew that, eventually, my mom would support it. At first, when I told her, she was very upset, and she was

Kimberly Faith:  Of course. Yeah.

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Yeah. So that was a hard part of life, but now my heart is really for, yeah, women who don’t have a support system and who are in the same situation and how my life is now, if I would have made that decision, my life would have been completely different. And I would not have had the same peace. I don’t think I mean, God is the maker of all, and he knows the story, but, I don’t think my life would’ve been the same 

Kimberly Faith: Of course not.

Megan (Huff) Freeman:  In, like, relationship wise to Christ if I would’ve continued to play basketball and if I would’ve gone the other way.

Kimberly Faith: Right. Now did you continue to play basketball after your child was born? Your little girl.

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Yes. Yeah. Yes. And it was more of a, I wanted to make sure that she wasn’t the reason that I stopped playing.

I wanted to make the decision on my own. And so I went and played with her in France for I think it was, she was five months old, and I went over there for about four or five months. And my husband was still in Washington State, and I went overseas, and it just wasn’t really lining up. And I felt like I either had to choose to send her to daycare and her  to be kind of raised by someone else or for me to come home and raise her myself.

Kimberly Faith:  Interesting.

Megan (huff) Freeman: And so I made that decision to come home and kind of leave basketball in the past and see maybe in the future I could play again or whatever else. So I kind of made that decision at that point, but yes.

Kimberly Faith: Your story is so extraordinary because, you know, I mean, I remember when I got pregnant with my oldest child, and I was in law school, my first year of law school. And I remember thinking, I’ll never finish. You know? And I know exactly how that feels because the timing was not, it was, I mean, I wasn’t even married. You know?

And it was like and here I am supposed to be this Christian person. Right? And you kind of just say, wow. Am I ever going to get it together? And it was interesting because, right before I found out that I was pregnant, I actually received Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior.

And so here we are right in this. I was in this conundrum of, you know, career, child, marriage. You know, we end up getting married. But I understand that you almost feel like, I don’t want to  say your life is over, but by the world’s standards, the way the world, the lens of the world views, people that, you know, give up a career or make a decision to keep their child instead of something else. There’s all this pressure on women to have it all. Right? And God worked it out. My career was delayed, but God worked it out so I could finish my law practice. And now it’s a great mission field. And so I guess I’m telling you this because  I know that if your heart is to serve the Lord, that your vision that involves basketball will come true.

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Right. 

Kimberly Faith: You know? And so ,tell everybody kind of what your vision is. I know you’ve got a lot of ideas, and I love all of them. And that’s great because sometimes we need to use our imagination, and God steps in and says, oh, but my imagination is even bigger than yours. Right? 

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Yes. 

Kimberly Faith: So tell everybody what your vision is for your ministry with basketball.

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Okay.  So for basketball, my long term vision would be to start a skills training program where I can bring the fruits of the spirit to basketball. And kind of bring basketball back to its roots of being a mission field.

Kimberly Faith: Okay. So before the show, we were talking about the roots of basketball, and you told me something I didn’t know. And that is that the guy who invented basketball, his name is James Naismith. And it was back in, I guess,1800’s  was that right? 1800’s? He was a Canadian American physical educator, physician, Christian chaplain, and sports coach, and he invented basketball. Yes. And, it was what you read, he did it, I guess, the YMCA first, which was the Young Men Christian Association back in the day. Right?

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Yes.

Kimberly Faith: And so that’s kind of your vision. It’s kind of like you were inspired by him.

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Yes. And just using the platform that God gave me, I felt as though I didn’t yet accomplish it because he put me on this place where I could share the gospel so freely. 

Kimberly Faith: Right.

Megan (Huff) Freeman:  If I wanted to, when I was playing professionally. And I was kind of always shying away from it because of fear of judgment of the world or whatever, especially because I was still living in the world.

And so I was fearful of those things. So now being outside of that, I want to still be able to use that platform that he gave me. And using it to to turn it from, like, an idolization thing because a lot of people think just because I was a professional athlete that I’m like someone to be idolized or to idolize or whatever. And it’s just not the case.

Like, we’re all professional athletes who are just as human as everyone else. And so using that place that I was at to be able to shine a light and bring kids in and to be like, hey. This is where I was, but I was never really fulfilled in this. 

Kimberly Faith: Yeah. 

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Until I had a relationship with Christ, until I found my true, like, my relationship with my father. 

Kimberly Faith: Yeah. Your heavenly father.

Megan (Huff) Freeman:  Yes.

Kimberly Faith:  Exactly. And I just think that your story is so powerful because first of all, you’re transparent.

I mean, you know,  just to say, yeah, this is where these decisions to live after the world took me. If I had, you know, maybe lived according to the spirit, right, maybe I would have had a different mission, but I didn’t. But that’s not the end of the world. God takes our stupidity, our own stupidity. I’m exhibit A on that, and he works it against itself and works great miracles.

And, you know, I think about of course, I’ve met your two beautiful little girls and seen you, you know, be a mom, and I just think that what a great gift that you have. I mean, think about it. You know, scoring a thousand points. Right? You know, those things are, who’s going to remember?

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Right.

Kimberly faith:  Right? And what are your children’s names?

Megan (Huff) Freeman:  Ava and Amaya. 

Kimberly Faith: So you have two little, mission projects. And, you know, the way God tells us to view our children and the people that we have the influence over is to, to make disciples. Right? And when they come to know Jesus, and then maybe they lead others to come to know Jesus, you know, in eternity 

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Yes. 

Kimberly Faith: It’s the only thing that’s going to matter. 

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Yes. Absolutely. 

Kimberly Faith: You know? And it’s, you have your own discipleship project, and it sounds like God’s kind of leading you in a direction because he’s given you a platform. You’re an amazing athlete, and you have not just natural skills, but you’ve worked to hone your skills. And so, man, I just think about the impact you could have on thousands of young girls who maybe have never known anyone like you

Megan (Huff) Freeman:  Right.

Kimberly Faith:  Or never would. 

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Right. 

Kimberly Faith: So tell us more about your vision.

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Yes. So it would be, again, skills training to start and, maybe making a facility that would be, like, long term to create a basketball facility and, just being able to bring the youth in, having camps, having skills training, and being able to bring the fruits of the spirit to basketball. So the things that were instilled in me, like, it was just in my heart from a young age to, again, to have the fruits of the spirit.

Kimberly Faith: Did you learn that with your mom, from church?

Megan (Huff) Freeman: I think  it was just the holy spirit within me because 

Kimberly Faith: Interesting. 

Megan (Huff) Freeman: It was just kind of a part of my personality and who I was as a person. So I think it was just kind of a God given thing.

Kimberly Faith: So when I think of the fruits of the spirit, the first the top three, love, joy, and peace. Right? And then you have, you know, kindness, compassion, you know, all these things, gentleness. And so what does that look like?

Megan (Huff) Freeman: So it’s slowly breaking down into lessons how you can make love a thing in basketball. Like, how can you be loving in a game?

Kimberly Faith:  Interesting. 

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Helping someone up, whether like, if you knock someone down, not just going and standing over them and taunting them.

Kimberly Faith: Right.

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Like, it’s not like this the game isn’t that important like, you know,

Kimberly Faith: Your testimony is more important than the game.

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Yes. Exactly. Yeah. So, again, and then having patience. There’s so many different times in basketball where you can have patience, whether it’d be with your move, whether it’d be, with your journey.

With your journey and, like, trusting that God’s going to have your journey in the long run. During my career when I was in a stage of transitioning from volleyball to basketball, there was a time of, like, I just had to be patient and wait. And I didn’t know what the next thing was going to be. The same thing when I was transferring, the same thing waiting for a job.

There was all this patience I had to really trust. At that time, I wasn’t very good at it. But, again, the patience that you can have in those moments, the joy you can have after a game or even in a loss, you can still have joy and people are going to ask you, like, why can you still be joyful in this bad season? And so that’s our time to share our testimony.

Kimberly Faith: You know, you said something earlier about your approach to the game, kind of being more quiet, the quiet player, and, you were forward. Right? 

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Yes. 

Kimberly faith: So, you know, I think love is the difference between passing the ball and getting an assist and letting somebody else shoot and shooting the ball yourself. I mean, am I, yeah, I just think about it very simply. You know, love on the basketball court would be a team player, support your team, lift your team up, and it’s the same in life. 

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Right. 

Kimberly Faith: You know, whether it’s teaching your children, you know, if you’re teaching your child, hey, you don’t take a toy because that’s not loving. You know? You share your toys.

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Right. Right. Even to the smallest thing of driving your car, like 

Kimberly Faith: Yeah. 

Megan (Huff) Freeman: We’re not the most important thing on the road. Like, this person that’s passing us up, maybe it’s important that they get over it. Like, just showing that love of Christ that I’m not the most important thing. My time isn’t more important than this person’s time. And, like, those are really hard things to do every day.

Kimberly Faith: They are, especially, you know, I think about what you just said, reminding me of the two great commandments that Jesus taught us. He said, love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind. Right? And then because he is love. Right?

And so when we’re loving him, that means we’re Jesus said, if you love me, you’re obeying me. That’s the proof. Right? So, gosh, you know, if we are sharing the road, we’re not road raging, we’re not retaliating, we’re not, you know, returning, hate for hate, we are forgiving, we are kind, we’re merciful, we’re compassionate, then we are then able to do the second amendment, which is to love each other 

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Yes. 

Kimberly Faith: The way God loves us, which is mind blowing to think that we get to do that.

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Right. 

Kimberly Faith: Because we’re so incapable on our own. We have to have the fruit of the spirit in us. They have to be the fruit of the spirit, not the fruit of Kim or the fruit of Megan. 

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Right.

Kimberly Faith: And then, we can give away what we’ve been given, but we don’t get to manufacture. We don’t have to manufacture either, which is a great relief.

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Right.

Kimberly Faith: Right? 

Megan (Huff) Freeman:  It is. 

Kimberly Faith:  I had a situation recently where somebody had really stabbed me in the back, and I’d tried to help this person for a long time. And it was just very shocking to me. And, of course, your first reaction is usually retaliation. You know? Like, are you kidding me right now?

And, you know, the Lord gave us the series we just finished called, the power of thanksgiving and affliction or thankfulness and affliction. And here he’d given me this whole series, and my first reaction is not to give thanks. 

Megan (Huff) Freeman: So hard.

Kimberly Faith:  I failed that test so badly. And for, like you know, then it was like even to the next morning, I’m trying to have my prayer time, and I’m just feeling like I’m praying to the wall. You know? I was like, oh, you’re following it. God, clear it. Clear it out. I can’t forgive her. You’re going to have to do it for me.

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Yes. 

Kimberly Faith: You know?

Megan (Huff) Freeman:  That’s surrendering.

Kimberly Faith: That’s right. And you know what he did? He’s like, well, I’m so glad you asked. Here, let me help. Let me give you a picture of who she is. And that’s what he did. 

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Wow.

Kimberly Faith:  And then it was like, it was like, you, this person is alone. She’s afraid. You know, she doesn’t have anything.

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Yeah. 

Kimberly Faith: And God gave me compassion, the fruit of the spirit. Right? 

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Yes.

Kimberly Faith:  And that came from God. That Kim could not manufacture that on her own. It starts though when we want it. And those kinds of lessons, I think, would just be invaluable to young girls who, you know, you had the, you grew up seeing that light and darkness every week in your life or every whatever it was with, yeah, you had no rules and you had Christian rules. You had  you know? And even going to play basketball, the peer pressure.

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Yeah. 

Kimberly Faith: You know? I mean, we all have it.

Megan (Huff) Freeman:  Right.

Kimberly Faith:  We all have challenges. And what do you think is going to, and  that kind of leads to my question. What do you think is going to be key for you to teach that to young girls?

Megan (Huff) Freeman: I think it’s making the relationship and then also just being able to, share my testimony, share kind of the things that happened in my life and and hopefully, God willing, that they will be able to trust me and they will be able to trust that, you know, that this story is true through the Lord, obviously. And then just leading them to Christ, being able to lead people to have their own relationship with Christ because none of us can do it on our own, and no one can do it for us either. It’s everyone stepping into that season of relationship with Christ, and it’s not always a snap of a finger. It happens. It’s sometimes it’s over time that people can trust more and they

Kimberly Faith: It’s discipleship. 

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Yes. Yes. 

Kimberly Faith: Like what you’re doing with your kids.

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Right. Exactly. Exactly. It’s every day. It’s not just like, hey, you’re saved. Good job. Go out there and 

Kimberly Faith: Right.

Megan (Huff) Freeman:  Rule the world or whatever. Like, again, taking them under your wing and being a mentor for them and being because a lot of people don’t have that to look up to. 

Kimberly Faith: Right.

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Especially, like, in today’s world, a lot of the people we look up to are these celebrities that are

Kimberly Faith: They give us nothing. 

Megan (huff) Freeman: Yes. 

Kimberly Faith: They give us nothing. I mean, if anything, they take away from us because they inculcate, you know, envy, you know, emptiness, you know, and some of these emotions that are so unhealthy that we can never measure up, body shame, whatever.

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Right.

Kimberly faith:  You know? 

Megan (Huff) Freeman: And a lot of it’s not even real. The things that we’re seeing, they’re all living the same way. 

Kimberly Faith: They’re getting airbrushed.

Megan (Huff) Freeman:  Yes. And I was in that same place where, like, anyone could look into where I was at and be like, oh, she’s so like, look at this place where she’s at. She’s in the WBA now. Look at this. Blah blah blah. All these different things that they could have seen from the outside looking in, and she’s so happy.

But I was in Latvia  like, crying and just, like, wishing I wasn’t there anymore. I was depressed, and I was, like, in this stage of, like, I was never going to  be enough. Even though I was at this place where I dreamed to be since I was a kid.

Kimberly Faith:  Right.

Megan (Huff) Freeman: I  still didn’t feel good enough after every game. I would sit, like, late at night just watching film what I could have changed on my shot, what   I could have changed on defense, what I could have changed on this. Like, nothing was good enough even if I had a good game. It still wasn’t enough because someone was going to find something that I could have done better. 

Kimberly Faith: Right. 

Megan (Huff) Freeman: And so it was constantly, like, striving for something, again, a worldly thing that I wanted to get.

Kimberly Faith: Right. 

Megan (Huff) Freeman: That was never going to be enough. 

Kimberly Faith: Yeah.  And isn’t it cool to hear the way that when we surrender our life to God, that we’re always enough because he’s enough.

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Right.

Kimberly Faith: You know? And it’s like with the situation, I was kind of like, God. Wait a minute. This belongs to you.

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Right.

Kimberly Faith: You know, in the context of what it could affect, that’d be my law practice. Well, that law practice isn’t mine. It’s yours. So this is your problem. You figure it out. What a relief. You don’t have to reveal all  the game tape. You can say, you know what? God, I did my very best in this moment, and, you know, I failed, but I know that you understand that, and you forgive that. And let me forgive the way you forgive. And then you let it go, and you’re free to pray.

Megan (Huff) Freeman:  Yes. 

Kimberly Faith: You’re free to exercise the fruit of the spirit even in the most horrible times.

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Right. 

Kimberly Faith: Isn’t that just amazing? The way God just like his plan is so good. And I think about, you know, some of the verses that we talk about a lot,  and your life kind of reminds me of, you know, when we trust God with our plan to make our plans, it Proverbs 16:9 says, in  their hearts, humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps. And the Psalms 37:4  says, delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

So you’re in a period of delighting. Right?

Megan (Huff) Freeman:  Absolutely. 

Kimberly Faith: And trusting and building. Maybe building up your, you know, your repertoire for what’s to come. Because the fruit of the spirit doesn’t happen overnight, does it? 

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Not at all. 

Kimberly faith: And you get lots of practice with the littles. 

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Absolutely. You pray for patience,  and you get it right afterwards.

Kimberly Faith: You know? I tell people, and my kids, of course, are grown, and I tell them I enjoy every year better than the last. And they’re like, you don’t miss it when they’re little. I said, no. I 100% do not.

I loved it when they were little. I loved that stage. But I love it better now.

Megan (Huff) Freeman:  Right. Right.

Kimberly Faith: I don’t have to change them. I don’t have you know? And that sounds bad. I don’t mean to sound bad at all. I did enjoy it, but when we invest, you know, you kind of look back, and it’s like investing in people like discipleship.

Because what you’re really talking about with this basketball dream that you have is a discipleship program. 

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Yes. 

Kimberly Faith: And one of the things that we emphasize on this program that I like to talk about is how people put their profession into a mission field. They make it a mission field, and that’s what you’re talking about doing.

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Yes. Absolutely.

Kimberly Faith: That’s so exciting to me.

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Yes.

Kimberly Faith: That’s so exciting, and I think the Lord’s going to do that in a way that is going to  blow your mind.

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Absolutely.  And even in my profession as a mother, like, because that’s what I’m doing right now. I stepped away from work to be at home with my girls, and I still can use that as a mission field. And, I’m seeing that especially since we’ve been in Missouri, like, the Lord has given me a lot more confidence to go out and speak to people and to be able to share the gospel, if it’s at Walmart or, try to find my divine appointments, trying to pray for divine appointments and for relationships of of people that I can discipleship with.

Kimberly Faith: Yeah. Because you have credibility. You know? You and  I don’t mean to interrupt you, but you, because of where you’ve been, you have a natural platform. People will say, oh, wow. You play for the WNBA? And they may listen to you because you’re not,  you know.?  Unfortunately, our culture has made motherhood or fatherhood into this small profession that doesn’t mean much. And people like you are changing that. What you gave up to clearly was not as important to you as what you’re doing now.

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Absolutely.

Kimberly Faith: And you could have had it all, like you were talking about. Right? And by the world’s standards, but so people are going to be like, what? Why? What is it about Christianity?

What is it about Jesus that made her give up what looks to be the best for something that the world’s going to the least. Right? And, she’s talked about the least of these. Right? You were, I think you were quoting the scripture there.

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Yes. A little bit.

Kimberly Faith: Right. Jesus said whoever has done it in the least of these has done it unto me. Right? 

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Yes. 

Kimberly Faith: And, really, in eternity, the only thing that’s going to be around is not a leather covered ball.

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Right. 

Kimberly Faith: It’s not going to be all those points and all those accolades. It’s going to be people.

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Exactly.

Kimberly Faith: And they’re either going to be in heaven or they’re not going to be in heaven. Right? And, so kind of bringing, I know I keep cutting you off because it’s such an interesting discussion. I’m sorry.  I always like to, oh, let’s have this. Let’s chase this rabbit.

But the basketball camp is, or basketball program, I guess, is what you called it in that which is more accurate, is one thing. But do you see yourself, how do you see that branching out in any other areas, or is that going to be pretty, you think that’s kind of  to be your focus? 

Megan (Huff) Freeman: So, again, a little, I don’t know if it’s kind of a God breathed thing. But something that kind of pinged in my mind when I was doing the basketball training stuff would be to be able to do it as a nonprofit as well and do it for foster kids or do it for people that are not, they don’t have the same, again, a family unit. 

Kimberly Faith:  Right.

Megan (Huff) Freeman:  Giving them something more to cling on to and more of a, because there’s so much community within the basketball 

Kimberly Faith: Yes.

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Programs and stuff. And so, like, I found a lot of my best friends and family through basketball, through sports that I’ve like, now I’ve had friends for years past

Kimberly Faith:  Right. 

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Because of basketball. So bringing that community, and with a good, covering over it with it being a Christian community, you know. 

Kimberly Faith: Yeah, the world view would be the world view that’s eternal. 

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Right. 

Kimberly Faith: That last, you know,  a humanistic worldview or some kind of mishmash of works, religion or whatever. Yeah. You’re right. It is community. I remember, you know, I played, you know, competitively, I guess you could call it that, volleyball, you know, for quite a few years, and those are still people that I just love.

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Right.

Kimberly Faith: You know, those are my people. That was my tribe. We hung out. We were together every week. And so to create that for kids who are in the foster care system, they’ll you’ll, like, be their family. 

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Right.  Right. And then they can branch out and make more family and bring people in, disciples who have more disciples that can continue the discipleship. And you’re bringing people in that can, there’s a program that I want to  start doing. It’s a discipleship program. That’s their vision and their goal for it is disciples who raise disciples who raise disciples. So, again, it can branch out throughout the world, really. 

Kimberly Faith: Wonderful.  It’s a great commission. Right? So Jesus, it’s interesting how a lot of people focus on evangelism, not knocking that. But Jesus, the great commission, the first thing he mentions is, go you therefore make disciples. 

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Yes.

Kimberly Faith: He said because discipleship, like, a lot of people that disciple are not even saved yet. 

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Yeah. 

Kimberly faith: We have a relationship like you were talking about, and the reason they’re even asking is because they’re like, why do you have so much peace? You know, those fruits of the spirit that you’re talking about. 

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Yeah.

Kimberly Faith: People are attracted to that. No one says, oh, I have too much peace. Stay away from me. You’re too peaceful. 

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Yes. Right. 

Kimberly Faith: No. They’re like, where do you get that from? 

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Yeah. 

Kimberly Faith: I just saw you go through that thing, and you were just kind. How did that happen? Honey, I can tell you. It wasn’t me. 

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Yes. 

Kimberly Faith: That was Jesus you’re looking for.

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Yes. Especially in a world like we have right now where there’s so many different things happening in the world

Kimberly Faith: Yes.

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Things that could be really scary for people to see and not have an answer for, to be able to still show that peace that we still have peace in this, again,

Kimberly Faith:  Tumultuous?

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Tumultuous time. 

Kimberly Faith:  Yeah. We always make up new words on the phone just so you know, we have an urban dictionary we’re starting. We can add to that.

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Yes. But yeah. So being able to have that peace still and being able to still hold your head high and be able to know that even if things go south. We still know that we have God, and no one can take that away from us. No one can take our salvation except for the Lord. You know, he’s the judge.

Kimberly Faith: Well, he’s the judge, and we can never lose it because it’s like you’re two girls. 

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Yeah. 

Kimberly Faith: They’re genetically yours 

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Right.

Kimberly Faith:  And your husband’s, and no one can change that.

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Exactly.

Kimberly Faith: And when we have the genetics of Christ, no one can change that. 

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Right. 

Kimberly Faith: What a comfort.

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Right.  Right. Especially if you know him. 

Kimberly Faith: Yes. 

Megan (Huff) Freeman: You have to know him.

Kimberly Faith: Well and I’m just saying it. You know, a lot of people, you know, think that they can lose their salvation. And I’m thinking, wait a minute. You know, Jesus said, whosoever believes on me shall have everlasting life.

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Yes.

Kimberly Faith: That’s like today. And if you don’t have everlasting, if your everlasting life is not everlasting, then he was lying. 

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Right. 

Kimberly Faith: You know? You take that everlasting, you put it in your pocket, and you possess it today.

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Yes. Yes.

Kimberly Faith: Otherwise, it was never everlasting. That’s just really simple to me. 

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Right. 

Kimberly Faith: Maybe I’m you know, my common sense is the word, I don’t know, but I also think about we’re in Christ, we’re the Bible talks about being in Adam and versus in Christ. 

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Right.

Kimberly Faith: Well, that’s talking about genetics. Your soul and spirit have been born again. You are part of the family. 

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Yes. Your whole flesh dies.

Kimberly Faith: That’s right. And your genes don’t change. You know? And what a comfort.

And the fruit of the spirit, I love that you’re going to integrate this into your program because the fruit of the spirit are so to me, this is the reason we call this Truth In Love because the fruit of the spirit, that’s how love is manifested, right, through these different ways of showing actions or showing mercy, showing compassion, showing kindness when it’s not necessarily deserved. Right? And then people say, oh,  where are you getting your truth from? Where do you know? And that’s why a lot of people don’t think about it that way.

But when somebody comes up to me and says, well, I believe in God, but I’m also going to live with my boyfriend. I said, well, okay. So why are you so anxious? And they go, well, because, you know,  and they’ll give me a litany of problems. I said, well, maybe it’s because the God that you’re serving that believes it’s okay to do these different things is not the God of the bible, and he can’t help you.  And people are like, what? I’m like, well, I mean, you know, he makes the rules because he’s God. 

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Right. 

Kimberly Faith: But if you choose a different God who makes different rules, has different rules, the rules that you think are okay, how’s that helping you? How’s that? How’s it serving you? 

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Right.

Kimberly Faith:  You know? And you’ve lived that. You know? You know, your born again, go into the world, peer pressure. We’ve all done it. And then you realize that you’re crying every night even though you’re a successful basketball player. 

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Right.

Kimberly Faith: You’re home anxious every night because you’re worried about whether somebody’s going to, you know, upend your law practice. Right? And God says, if you will just love me with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, renew your mind, then I’m going to  give you peace that passes understanding, joy that is unspeakable and full of glory. I’m going to give you grace to give to others. And, we’ve kind of coined a new phrase, and we’re calling it the space for grace.

And, you know, that’s so powerful that when people come into our presence, we’re not running over them.

Megan (Huff) Freeman:  Yeah. 

Kimberly Faith: With the gospel or with and we’re giving them space for grace, whether that’s for, I mean,  that’s for growth or whether that’s for salvation. Because a lot of people, like I said, we disciple, and they aren’t even saved yet.

Megan (Huff) Freeman:  Right.

Kimberly Faith:  But they’re curious.

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Right. Right. You might just be planting a seed. 

Kimberly Faith: Exactly. And these young girls, especially the whole idea of doing that  with foster children, you know, who have been passed around. Family to family. And a lot of times, they have wonderful foster homes, but you kind of want your real family.

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Right. 

Kimberly faith: You know? 

Megan (Huff) Freeman: There’s a hole. 

Kimberly Faith: That’s right. And you give them that wonderful fruit of the spirit, the love, the joy, the peace, kindness, and, wow, I just love that. I love that. And I’m sorry. I always do this. I always keep talking. But is there, so kind of bringing everything kind of back full circle. If there’s one piece of advice you could give young girls who maybe are into sports or really, you know, idolized sports figures, what would that advice be?

Megan (Huff) Freeman: I would say, to focus on God. I know it’s hard, especially at a young age, but to have peace knowing that God has your future. I did a little bit of a lesson to some high schoolers, and I use the scripture in Matthew about it’s easier for a camel to go through the eye of the needle than for a rich man to inherit the kingdom of God. And, that’s kind of what I was seeing being on this platform where I idolized it from a young girl.

Kimberly Faith:  Right.

Megan (Huff) Freeman: And again, it doesn’t have to just be sports. It could be motherhood. It could be a profession. It could be a relationship. Like, we idolize these things and we put it on a pedestal. And, when we find our riches or our glory like, when we find our self worth through those things, it’s very hard to inherit the kingdom of God. It’s really hard to have our faith in Christ when we have our faith in our husbands or our boyfriends or our parents or whatever else it is, a worldly thing, our careers. So I think just trying to separate ourselves from that worldly mindset of money or fame or, a title and really bringing it back to, the one who can never let us down, and starting our growth there.

Kimberly Faith: That’s so powerful. That’s so powerful, Megan. I mean, it really letting God show us our value because only he knows us better than we know ourselves even.

Megan (Huff) Freeman:  Right. 

Kimberly Faith: And that’s such a process. I mean, I’m old, but it’s still happening in my life. You know? And  I appreciate that advice. That’s such good advice. And I think that  if people like yourself who have this platform are very passionate about not only, just you’re in this time now where you get an opportunity to really grow those fruits of your spirit, you know, the fruit of your spirit in you because you are able to, you’ve got two disciples. Right? And you have more freedom because you don’t have a lot of other obligations, outside the home.

Megan (Huff) Freeman:  Right. 

Kimberly Faith: And just giving, like you said, taking those opportunities to practice on people, like other adults and even teaching these teenagers. Right? What a great opportunity and exercise in patience too because  you had this goal, right, that you want to do. I mean, that’s what happened with this podcast. I wanted to do this podcast for three years. 

Megan (Huff) Freeman:  Wow. 

Kimberly Faith: And the Lord just was, we just weren’t ready. God had to prune the vine. He pruned that fig tree right there. It’s growing back. And then he was just like, okay. Now you’re ready.

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Yes. 

Kimberly Faith: And it’s you know, I don’t have a clue what I’m doing, but I’m having a great time. And the Lord’s blessing it. You know? So well, thank you so much for joining us on this podcast.

And, you know, one of the passages that your life reminds me of is in Colossians 3:17, and that is whatever you do in word or deed, do everything, in the name of Jesus Christ. And that everything is  in First Peter, everything that we do, whether we eat or we drink, would be glorified to him. I’ve only known you a short time, but that’s one of the things that comes to my mind. The scriptures comes to mind about your life. And I just know that the Lord’s going to bless you with the desires of your heart because you are delighting in him. And so thank you so much for joining us.

Megan (Huff) Freeman: Oh, thank you for having me.

Kimberly Faith: Absolutely.

Jacob Phaneuf: You’ve been listening to the Truth in Love podcast with your host, Kimberly Faith. To discover more answers to the big questions in life, visit us at gofaithstrong.com.