WE were moved by the sheer honesty and sense of maturity in remarks made in this newspaper by national footballer Mr Kemar Lawrence.

Speaking against the background of mounting frustration with the pace at which his professional career is moving, the Harbour View winger summed up aptly the importance of remaining focused even in the face of gloom.

Mr Lawrence’s predicament of not landing a professional overseas contract at what is considered a very fruitful and promising stage of his football career is not unique in the wider Jamaican society where employment opportunities are scarce, to say the least.

For academically qualified individuals and those with God-given talent, like Mr Lawrence, sitting idly by for “the big break” can be a source of immense hopelessness and disillusionment.

And, we are well aware that the devil stands ready to find work for idle hands.

Mr Lawrence, and many like him, could easily have chosen to give up and be lured down a destructive path. But this young and ambitious footballer will not be swayed from his goal.

“Yes, I am frustrated, but still humble and grounded, and I have to just keep that in mind… it gets to you at times when you think about it, especially when you think you are doing everything right and everybody is saying you are doing everything right.”

Those were the sobering words from Mr Lawrence, published on the day of his 22nd birthday on Wednesday.

Based on what we have gathered from his comments and what his friends say about him, Mr Lawrence is clearly a focused young man in pursuit of his dream of becoming a high-value professional football asset.

To his credit and by his own admission, the exciting player is a true believer in his own abilities and trusting of the ‘Man’ upstairs.

“But you have to just keep working hard, keep pushing forward and hopefully someone will see you, and when God is looking out for you, you know it’s just a matter of time before you make that breakthrough.”

If only Mr Lawrence’s comments could be seen and heard by every talented and bright young man and woman of Jamaica who have given up on dreams because opportunities come few and far between.

In sport, in general, and football in particular, there are countless stories of how some of our most gifted sons and daughters have fallen by the wayside because of doors slamming shut in their faces. In some cases, some have only met closed doors.

We also cringe at the knowledge that some of these individuals could have been spared taking the proverbial road to nowhere had we had a functional state that catered more to the interests of our young people through proper programmes and mentorship.

Sadly, too, we have found that as Jamaicans we don’t like to wait around for too long for something to happen. We want things to happen right here, right now. It is that devilish fast way out that has lured so many of us into the get-rich-quick mentality, which invariably leads to a bitter end for many.

In the real and practical world, things don’t work like that. We are more likely to succeed with the deliberate and patient approach of Mr Lawrence.

For the sake of our country’s future, we hope that more of our young people will be inspired by his life philosophy, opting to stay the course of life rather than to veer off when things are not happening at the pace at which we would like.