SOWING SEEDS OF LOVE & KINDNESS

As one of the highest-paid linemen in the NFL, Jason Brown had it all: a beautiful wife, Tay, a growing family and fame. But when felt a nudge on his heart to leave his career behind to start a farm that gives to people in need, Jason knew he couldn’t ignore it…and it has changed his life and the lives of millions of others!

- MAGGIE DILLARD

Jason Brown gazed at his reflection in the mirror on his 27th birthday and sighed. I should be happy, he thought. After all, as one of the highest-paid centers in the NFL, he and his wife, Tay, a successful dentist, were living the American dream in their mansion in St. Louis. But that morning, on his birthday, Jason felt hollow.

“What are you doing with your life?” he asked aloud, staring at himself. Reflected back at him was the face of his older brother, Lunsford Bernard Brown II, who had died serving his country in Iraq in 2003.

At the time, Jason had been in the midst of his college football career and a few short years away from being drafted by the Baltimore Ravens. But his brother never got to see his success as an NFL player. True success, though, in Jason’s mind, had always been the life Lunsford had led: one of service, purpose…one of meaning.

There’s more to you than this, Jason thought to himself, feeling despair. 

God, Jason prayed, with all the gifts, talents and blessings that You’ve given us, what would You have me do to make a difference in the world?

That day, on Jason’s birthday, God answered his prayer and put a call on his heart: Become a farmer and help people with food insecurities. I don’t know how it will go, Jason thought nervously. But I must chase this dream.

Letting everything go

Not sure how she’d take it, Jason gently broke the news to Tay that he was turning down the lucrative offer he’d recently received from the San Francisco 49ers.