Swimming Lessons

My first experience with swimming was in a mommy and me class, and I’m pretty sure I cried every time my mom took me out of the water. At age five, I joined a year-round swim team and it’s been my passion ever since. I never imagined God would eventually use swimming to get my attention.

At Desert Mountain High School, I competed at state all four years, winning several events, and was lucky enough to be the team captain my junior and senior years. I was recruited by a few schools and ultimately chose the University of South Carolina. I love it there—the humidity is a little much, and it’s 2,000 miles from home—but my team is great!

My family has been at Scottsdale Bible for 10 years, and I feel like I’ve always known that Christ is the Lord and Savior and the one to follow. My parents instilled that in me at a young age. My relationship with God was strong—I read the Bible most every day and felt blessed to have Him in my life and work through me. I never really had any doubts until this past year.

In March of my senior year, I was swimming the 200m butterfly at the state finals. As soon as I dove in, I felt a pop and a rip in my shoulder. I kept swimming because I didn’t want to give up, but when I finished and got out of the water, I instantly started crying and ran to my mom. I told her I didn’t know what happened, but I was in a lot of pain. This was day one of a two-day meet, and although I was in pain, I decided to finish. My team was counting on me, so I couldn’t give up.

We tried physical therapy and injections over the summer, but eventually my doctor said, “If you ever want to swim again, you need surgery.” I began to question why God would allow something like this if He loved me so much. The weeks after the surgery were brutal. My grades began to slip, I began to get more aggressive with my parents, and I wondered if swimming was worth it.

Two months later, I was able to get back in the water, but I couldn’t move my arm freely. I was experiencing depression and couldn’t help thinking, “Where is God when it hurts?” Seeing all my teammates having fun at meets, while sitting on the sidelines not being a part of it, was hard. My mom told me I could handle the situation in two ways—either sit there and pout, or be their biggest cheerleader. I did my best, but I couldn’t help questioning why God would do this to me when I felt like I’d been so faithful to Him.

After talking to my parents while home on Christmas Break and returning to Scottsdale Bible with them, I instantly knew what I was doing wrong. I wasn’t connected in a church and I needed to find my way back to the Lord. With my parents’ encouragement, I found a great church and have been going every Sunday, in addition to watching SBC sermons online. I also got involved in Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and it’s helped a lot.

In March, I was able to swim butterfly for the first time again, and it felt amazing. I got out of the water after swimming a full 25m fly without any gear and I just cried. Looking back, I can see how the whole experience helped me grow as a follower of Christ and pushed the boundaries of my faith. Slowly and steadily, God is helping me find my way back. I always knew He was there, but sometimes you just lose sight of what’s important. And I think it just brought me back to where I needed to be.

Through this past year, I’ve learned the importance of being patient and trusting in the Lord. I really realized that I had to put all my faith in Him and I can’t question it like I was. I realized that the battle is not mine, even though it may seem like it. God has a plan and I’ve got to follow it no matter what. Although I can get off track, at the end of the day, He’ll always be there.