Tuesday, September 4, 2007

 

Ty and I arrived into Jacksonville last night around 6:30. Tim and the kids were there to pick us up...how sweet it was! Holding my little girl who was SOOOO excited about my being home was amazing...not to mention seeing Tim and Dalton. I have missed them all so much.

 

Today I started home schooling Dalton. With his dyslexia, we will be spending much time together and I look forward to getting into a routine with him and learning together. Home schooling Dalton was another adventure the Lord has put me on....again, not one I had chosen but am having to be obedient to. Be careful what you say you’ll never do!!!

 

Well....this is the last blog regarding the worlds. These are a few answers to my questions:

 

Why Lord, did you allow me to ski so well prior to the tournament? A silent answer was whispered in my heart....”You wouldn’t have come otherwise.”

 

Why didn’t the Lord allow me to stand on the top of the podium...wouldn’t it had made such a better story? Again, a still whisper to my heart says, “You wouldn’t have stopped.” How true as I was already looking to sign up for the US Open the day I was flying out to Austria.

 

Why this entire adventure? “I wanted to see if you’d be obedient. If you’d lay aside your pride, your people pleasing desires and put yourself out there for me.”

 

I believe the adventure was about obedience. I put myself out there for sure and it was a humbling experience but one I am better for. I enjoyed the last few weeks and am thankful for the opportunity. I started this blog saying how thankful I was for the opportunity, I close with the same sentiments. I am blown away by the goodness of God. I trust Him. I know He asked me to go, I went, gave it my all and I trust that what He began, He will complete. I know that somewhere God has worked in someone’s life (He has in mine for sure) through this adventure. I may not ever see this side of heaven all the reasons “why”, but I believe and have confidence in Him!

 

One of the coolest things about this entire experience is that for the first thing in my life, I climbed on a plane after competing in a water ski tournament with complete joy. In years past, I would feel so empty, especially if I had skied poorly. This time, I placed near the bottom of the field but left Austria having one of the most amazing trips of my life. Talk about a breakthrough! I just wish every athlete at the event could have left with that same joy. I saw so many faces and hearts that were defeated because of how they performed. My heart broke but my passion was renewed to share with them how they can have joy that is completely unrelated to how you perform.

 

Thanks again for following me on this journey. I pray you have been as blessed as I have been. Let me encourage you to step out when the Lord asks you to regardless of whether it makes sense or not. Most likely, it won’t! Don’t look to people’s approval of what you are going to do....most likely, you won’t get it. Trust your heart and trust the Lord, you will never be disappointed!