August 21st, 2009
One stranger, One prayer, One year, One Question
My one dream in high school was to play field hockey at the Division 1 level. My hard work and dedication paid off when I was offered a scholarship to play at my dream school. The summer after my freshman year I came back home to train, hang out with my boyfriend, and work as a lifeguard at the community pool. That was what my life revolved around. At the end of the summer a woman who came to the pool almost every day with her family handed me a tape as she was leaving. I went home and listened to it. It was a prayer for me. She was praying for me, a person she didn’t even know, saying she saw something special in me. To be honest, at the time I thought it was a little weird, but was also touched by the words. After about a week, I did not give the tape a second thought. I went back to school, had an amazing season, a fun year, and then returned home after my sophomore year to train, hang out with my boyfriend, and work at the pool again. But God had a different plan…
I was loving my life, and in an instant things change. My relationship ended in heartbreak, and to cheer myself up I went to the beach with my friends for a weekend. After a few stupid mistakes, I returned with a broken foot. Two weeks away from pre-season, and my foot was in a cast. I was told I would be on the sidelines. No starting spot. No season. Everything my life was devoted to fell apart. I defined myself by how good I was at field hockey, and now I would be on the bench. I began to think about the woman who gave me the tape, and her words, and who was she praying to like that? I went to church, but we didn’t pray like she prayed. She was actually talking to someone, she wasn’t just reading out of the bulletin. I began to wonder what that was about.
The woman who gave me the tape came to the pool almost every day that summer with her children. I never really said anything to her after she gave me the tape, but now after my accident, every time I saw her, I wanted to talk to her, I just didn’t know what to say. Then one day as she was walking in I crutched up to her and asked “Remember the tape you gave me last year… did you mean what you said? Do you really see something special in me and think God can use me?” I almost broke down right there, realizing how much I wanted to be special and feel like I was valuable and not just because I was good at hockey. That question lead to a beautiful friendship that lead me to discover the freedom and joy of having a relationship with God. And now, my world revolves around Him. I am devoted to the One.
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