Christian Olympians
During the 2000 Olympics we were watching platform diving. There was a young, female diver that was doing quite well. As we watched her throughout the Olympics my wife turned to me and said, “She’s a Christian. I can tell by her smile.” I gave a small laugh and thought to myself, “How can she tell that?” Well, my wife was right (which she usually is)!
Laura Wilkinson is numbered in Time Magazine’s 100 Olympians to Watch and she’s an outspoken Christian as well. What an awesome opportunity she has to represent her country and also her Lord in Beijing. Pray for her as she lives out her faith in front of the world. You can read her testimony on her Official Website. She writes about how she gave her life back to the Lord on the diving platform during a competition. What a great example of the connection between faith and fitness!
“I realized during this meet that I had become dependent on myself, my decisions, my wants and my goals. It had been all about me, and my world had fallen apart. As I was climbing up the ladder for that handstand dive, I remembered a Bible verse that I had loved when I was younger: ‘I can do everything through him, who gives me strength’ (Philippians 4:13, NIV). Right there on the platform, in the middle of the meet, I asked God to forgive me for following my own path, and I gave my life back to Him.”
Two Questions
1. What challenges in your pursuit of lifelong fitness have drawn you closer to God?
2. What Christian Olympian are you going to follow during the games? Visit here and here for bios of Christian Olympians to watch.
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I’ll be pulling for Ryan Shay. Left my Runner’s World on an airplane recently and didn’t get to read the article about him, but will likely pick up another.
A nod to Tyree and Manning when they won the ESPY for the best play award. Tyree gave all credit to the Lord and Manning was nodding in agreement behind him. Both seemed very genuine.
It always amazes me how, with “everything at their fingertips”, many professional athletes still search for something more and find what they are missing in a relationship with God.