"Whatever you do, do it all for the Glory of God"
1 Corinthians 10:31
Winning U14 Girls at the Easterns Championships this year was a huge accomplishment for me. Being given the opportunity to glorify God when I got the opportunity was an even bigger accomplishment. At all of the big National, East Coast, Primes, or Regionals events, I always hope and pray that I will do good so that I can glorify God and show everyone that if we believe in Him and trust Him to lead us on our path, then He will help us achieve our goals... though many times it does not work out for me. At these big contests when I don't perform as I had hoped and it doesn't work out for me, I am constantly told "This was not your time, this is not where God thought that you could have the biggest impact on the people around you." After competing for four or five years, I have been waiting and praying for one of those moments. This year, starting at the ESA regionals, God started giving me opportunities that I could use to glorify His name. I felt so blessed to have had that experience and going into Easterns last weekend I prayed that He would give me an even bigger platform. After praying heat after heat, finals came around. I was using a new board that I had just gotten, so I did not yet have stickers or my scripture and cross on it yet. But when I came out of the water, I was able to be chaired up the beach with my old board behind me, with the cross facing everyone so they could all see WHO I stand for and I felt so blessed knowing that this was one of the moments that He was providing me with...to show everyone that my identity is in Christ. We went into awards later that day and I was able to give a speech and praise our Lord and thank Him for all He has done for me in front of the entire crowd and online on ESA's website. This was one of the biggest accomplishments I have had in my life and I thank God for every single bit of it. For all of you surfers, or whatever sport you might play that you are waiting for a moment to glorify Him with, just be patient with Him. Know that He will give you the opportunity to glorify Him, when He knows that you are ready.
