1 John 5: 14-15
"Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if
we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him."
It was spring of my senior year in high school, and I still had not decided where I would be attending college in the fall. One thing I knew for certain was that I had always wanted to swim in college. When I was around 8 and 9 years old, I had hopes of swimming for The University of Florida or The University of Tennessee. After moving to North Carolina when I was 9 1/2 years old, my sights switched to attending The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
The Junior National Championships were in Orlando, Florida that April, at Justus Aquatic Center. My parents drove me and a few other swimmers down to Orlando for the swim meet in their gray conversion van, with a fold down bed in the back and captains chairs that swiveled and reclined all the way back. I stayed in a separate motel with my teammates once I was in Orlando.
I was going to swim 3 events and some relays with my teammates. My favorite and best event was Friday, the 50 freestyle. I had been training extra hard and felt really fast the week before in practice. I had had a new coach the week prior to the meet who really prepared me for the meet in a new way with sprints, turn work and finishing. He also sat me down after the last practice, and gave me the best motivational speech I had ever received. He made me believe I could win the 50 free. I had all the makings of a pure sprinter, which he just added a cherry on top with making me believe. This is essential for any athlete or human walking through life.
I looked through the heat sheet at the beginning of the meet, and I was seeded 42nd. I was not hung up on this, nor did I pressure myself. I had complete peace. See I had a special weapon with me that kept me calm and focused. I had a strong relationship with God through prayer and His word in the Bible. I had my Bible with me at the meet and remember lying in bed reading the night before the 50 free. If you know me, you know that this is out of the norm for me. I was usually dancing around, laughing and expending energy with my friends. Not that night, I was completely focused.
This photo was taken the night before my 50 free at Junior Nationals in Orlando, April 1987.
I got a good night sleep and a good breakfast in the morning. I knew I had to swim fast in the morning to make it back to finals that night. And that's what I did. I had moved all the way from 42nd place to 1st place. That night before the 50 free event, I was called to the ready room. This was where all the finalists in the top 8 gathered prior to the race. We would walk out to loud music and lots of cheering.
When I was in the ready room, I wanted to remain focused and not think about the other athletes in the room. I am pretty sure that I didn't talk to anyone. When they called us to walk out, I put my goggles over my eyes, and marched out. I didn't want anything to ruin my focus, especially all the spectators that would be screaming and cheering.
The only thing I really remember about the race, which was a quick down and back, was pushing off the wall after my turn. My arms were streamlined, but they were undulating through the water and the waves. I had never experienced this sensation. I was moving!
I touched the wall, and looked up at the scoreboard. I had dropped over a second in my 50 free and had touched the wall First.
This was God's will. My path in life was steered by this one event that lasted 23.70 seconds. God has blessed me abundantly...The way to love, true joy and comfort is through God the Father and through His gift of His son Jesus Christ. God calls us to Believe in Him, Jesus, redeemer of our iniquities.
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