Thursday, August 30, 2007 until return home
Thursday, August 30: It was a very cool day at the lake today. The water, however, was absolutely beautiful! I got to the site just in time to give my buddy Jeff Rodgers a big hug and kiss from his wife (on the check of course) who is back home. He went out and skied awesome. He looked calm and had the top score (tied with a few other guys). I spent the day hanging out with him and some other skiers. It was great to catch up with Mike Kjellander, Bob LaPoint, Cindy Todd, Kris LaPoint and Jennifer Leachman. For those who have followed skiing for years and years, you’ll know who they are. The best of the best when they were on the water.
It was a bit strange watching the girls ski. The water looked so amazing. I was a bit surprised more didn’t run the 38 off line length. It took 2 at 38 off to make the finals...about what I expected. It was awesome to watch Whitney McClintock take to the water with a black and blue ankle and ski awesome, making it into the finals. God answered our prayers for sure as she couldn’t walk on it on Sunday when I arrived.
I was very much at peace today. A ski friend of mine and fellow believer pulled me aside and said she had to talk to me. She said her brother in Australia was reading through the names of competitors and came across mine. He stopped and kind of thought, what in the world was my name on there since I had retired. She said that the first thing that came to his mind was ‘obedience.” That I was being obedient to what the Lord had laid on my heart to do and that it wasn’t for skiing but for a bigger picture. It was what I already knew in my heart but it was awesome to hear it confirmed by someone who didn’t really know what was going on. It truly blessed me.
Rather than sight see with my folks, Ty and I spent the day at the lake as I thought that perhaps I was to be there since the Lord had brought me here. But as I was there, it seems to me (I can be wrong of course) that it was more the journey getting here and the fact that I came that the Lord is using. Perhaps there is someone that the Lord has laid on their heart to do something that doesn’t seem easy to do, or possible to do, or just plain doesn’t make sense...but through this experience He is encouraging them to ‘trust’ Him and to take that step of faith. Many emails have confirmed this already. Whatever the reason, I know that I am a changed person because of the experience.
The last two weeks have been amazing as I got to push my body to limits I never dreamed possible again. I was able to focus mentally on the water and spend amazing time in the boat with my husband and Kyle. I saw the support of friends and family through emails, hugs, encouraging words, tears of joy.... To know that people are behind you, although we shouldn’t rely on it, was still a blessing to experience.
I got to experience running 38 off again, a line length that I never dreamed I would even try again, much less run. I was able to stand on the dock in an international competition, see friends that I never thought I’d see again, and experience peace on the water. I felt God’s strength throughout the week as I prepared for the event. I was able to encourage other skiers, smile for numerous photos, share my screw driver with a panicking Oriental skier who’s bindings were loose. I got to pray for a fellow competitor as she was laid up in bed, give another friend a hug as she came out of the water disappointed from her run and say you know what, I understand! I was able to talk to three guys from Lebanon about In His Wakes and found out they were fellow believers. I witnessed them sharing about In His Wakes to another Russian skier. I also got to share my adoption experience with a Russian skier friend who through her tears is interested in adopting herself one day. We got to talk for about an hour about it. I also got to talk to the Russian team captain about In His Wakes coming to Russia one day. I was also able to spend some time with an Italian slalom skier who approached me asking for an In His Wakes t-shirt for his girlfriend who I was blessed to meet.
To say this experience wasn’t amazing would be far from the truth. It was an amazing experience, not to mention spending time with my son and seeing this amazing countryside. I know that whatever God’s plans are, I can trust them and not be disappointed in them. He knows the plans He has for me and the reasons behind this trip. Whatever disappointment I faced on the water, He promises to give me more than I can abundantly hope for or imagine. He knew my heart was to ski for Him and through the obedience will come blessings...there already has been showers of them!
So was this a leading me back to the water for another season of being a professional water skier? So many inquiring minds want to know. I would be crazy if I said I am never going to do this again for who knows if and when the Lord may lay the desire on my heart to go out there again for Him. I can say with confidence that it isn’t something that Kristi will desire to do on her own. I am quite at peace with my life as a mother, wife, friend, daughter, sister and being involved with In His Wakes. I am fulfilled using my talent to ski to bless others on the water and share with people all over the world through my writing and speaking engagements about the goodness of the Lord. I don’t see myself in any more tournaments unless I am riding in the boat cheering for my kids!
I tried to enter the US Open the other day but as I was filling out the information on the internet, I just had to delete it. There was no desire and no peace, so I logged off. To go through this experience without the Lord doesn’t interest me in the slightest. Had I had won on Saturday in the finals, most likely I would have been signed up at the next ski event without even giving it a thought about what He’d have me do. So....I wait on the shorelines and go back to spending my time on the water as I have been doing the last five years...sharing the sport and the good news of Jesus Christ with a world who needs to be shown the love of Christ and to hear that they are Champions in God’s Eyes! Cool thing is that so am I, regardless of whether I stood on the top of the podium or not!
Above picture of Mike Kjellander, Elena Milikova, and me. To right, Jeff Rodgers after his winning run. Below, Jaret Llewellyn and Kristi.
Friday, August 31: This morning we are going sight seeing with my family. I went to the International Water Ski Hall of Fame Induction last night. It was in over a 1000 year old castle (or what was left of it) which had been bombed in the world war. Just up the street are factories, which are now chemical plants, but were originally built by Hitler for producing armory for the war. When the allies came to bomb the factory, they dropped 9 bombs on the wrong side of the river and they hit the castle we were in. It was quite an amazing story.
This morning I have spent some time in the Bible and reflecting some more on the verses I had been claiming the last two weeks. Psalms 57:7 says that my heart is fixed and confident. Fixed means not to be moved. I am to be confident and unmoved in what I know to be true, that God has brought me here. For the last week I have spent so much effort in being confident in what He was going to do on the water, how He was going to show Himself mighty to the world by an incredible comeback. I was claiming the verses, I am more than a conqueror, I will be upheld, I will triumph, I can do ALL things through Christ who gives me the strength to do it.
Well, this morning I had a cool revelation. Romans 8:37 says that I am more than a conqueror in Christ. All week I had took that to mean, I am able to conqueror over this course and run it! Well, as I meditate and look deeper, I see that the verse says “Yet amid ALL THESE THINGS we are more than conquerors and gain a surpassing victory through Him Who loved us” (Amplified version). What are ALL these things? From the previous verses we see “they” are persecution, trials, disappointments, distress, peril, the disapproval of man.... What this is saying is that even amidst the trials, among all the things we must go through (as we know the Word says that in this world there will be trials and tribulations), that I am more than a conqueror and I am victorious.
Another revelation I see here is in Phil 4:13, “I can do “ALL THINGS” through Christ who gives me strength.” Again I was claiming this for the reason to give me confidence to run the course, the slalom course. But when I look at the verse in context (which we always should do) I see that the previous verses, like Romans 8:37, talks about Paul being content in any situation, being undisturbed in whatever state he is in. He says that in whatever situation he is in, he has found that he has the strength for ALL things in Christ Who empowers Him. He has inner strength to go through any trial.
I do also believe God gives us inner strength to accomplish physical tasks too (look at the David having physically victory over his enemies, Elijah being able to out run a chariot of horses, people being healed, raised from the dead...). God’s power to strengthen us and raise us above our situations is endless! But in this case, Paul is saying even amidst all the things I must go through, I am able to overcome because of the strength I have from God above. I have found this to be so true this week.
Finally, II Corinthians 2:14 says “But thanks be to God, Who in Christ always leads us in triumph (as trophies of Christ’s victory) and through us spreads and makes evident the fragrance of the knowledge of God everywhere.” Again, throughout the week I had focused on God leading me in triumph. To me triumph meant standing on the podium but what I want us to realize is that victory to God is different than victory to us. We measure success in performance and the end result that we see. We measure success in ministry as to how many people got saved, how many people show up at an event, how many events we hold, how much money is coming in to the ministry. We measure success in our personal lives as how big our house is, how much money we make, how many kids we have or how awesome our spouse is. We measure success by what we think people think of us.
God measures success in obedience and through our obedience, God always leads us in triumph. God doesn’t look at this experience here at the worlds and say, “Kristi, you weren’t triumphant because you didn’t stand on the the podium.” He says, “You are triumphant because you obeyed me and through your obedience, people’s lives will be changed.”
Some people will come home with a trophy, I am a trophy (as are you too as a believer) of Christ’s victory. Through me and you, He will spread and make evident the knowledge of God everywhere. That is pretty cool! The triumph is triumph in every situation, even tough ones as we’ve learned before, not necessarily triumph in a contest or situation.
Finally, what was revealed to me is that although faith can move mountains, the faith we have must line up with God’s will and purpose. I have been reading and teaching on faith in our small groups the last few months. Verses such as ‘all things are possible to him who believes,” “whatever you ask and don’t doubt, you will receive,” “you can say to this mountain be ye removed and it shall be tossed into the sea.” We see in the Bible that Christ says that unbelief was a hindrance to people receiving from Him His miracle working power. Well, the question can arise....did I not have faith in God’s ability to lead me to the top of the podium?Oh no....I had faith. I believed it with my whole heart. Even through the attacks mentally that I was under, I stood on God’s Word and His desire that He had put in my heart and remained sure that He who began a good work in me would carry it to completion.
But the deal is, my faith was in God leading me through the slalom course so that I would be victorious. That was misplaced faith. My faith should have been, God I trust you that whatever your plan is for this experience, you will see me through “ALL THINGS”, you will give me strength to face “ALL THINGS” and to accomplish “ALL THE THINGS” that YOU desire for my life and the lives of those I will come into contact.
What if God gave me exactly what I had desired right then...to be on top of the podium to glorify Him. What about His plans? What if through the lessons learned through this experience more lives are touched for eternity than through the one day of “victory”? I am thankful that I didn’t get what I desired because I am fully confident that what He has planned is far greater and more lives will be touched.
Does this mean never to have faith for healing, for deliverance, for physical victories in your personal life? Absolutely not! We must have faith and claim what is ours as believers and stand sure in our faith that God will see us through “ALL THINGS” and make us His trophies through every situation so that people are coming to know Him.
