My faith journey: God’s timing

For this blog I will share what I have learned as a follower of Jesus Christ. My spiritual journey over the years began when I was an elementary school kid. My parents were both catholic, and they had me attend church and a religion class once per week when I was a kid. But it wasn’t until high school where I really began to dive deep into my own curiosity, if there is really a god?? I always felt that I had a spirituality hunger inside me, and I believed that I was created for a purpose. My passion in sports, school, and in life came from that sense of purpose. I put every effort I had into each one; because I did not want to waste what talents I had been given. I believed that I was created for a purpose, so why not put every effort into developing my gifts that I was given? That was my mindset as I grew up. But, it wasn’t until my freshman year of HS, that I really had my eyes opened on the deepness of Christianity.

Looking back on my life so far, I can point to some examples of God showing himself through events or people. Entering into high school was one of those times. I had been looking at a few different options for school primarily based on athletics and academics. I chose to attend a medium sized private school called CVCA or Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy. When I showed up as a freshman, I immediately felt something different that I had never experienced before. The authentic love and kindness displayed by my classmates, teammates, and teachers was so unique to me. “In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that the we might live through him” 1 John 4:9. I didn’t know it at the time, but it was the first time I experience a radical love that came only from God; which was displayed through his followers. I also experienced for the first time an in-depth teaching of God’s word every week in chapel Thursday mornings, and connection with a small group. In the small groups, my classmates were so open about their own struggles, desires, feelings, aspirations, and so forth. It was amazing! We had some real conversations, and could help one another. I began to ask questions about Christianity to the pastors at CVCA. I desired to understand what it meant to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, even though he isn’t living today. By the time Christmas came my freshman year, I made the decision to put my trust in Jesus as my Lord and Savior. I began a personal relationship with him, and from that day forward it has been a continual process of being molded and shaped more like Him every day.

My focus shifted from the point I made my decision to be a Christian. I began to treat every day as one to honor God in everything I did. “In whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God” 1 Corinthians 10:31; this verse was written on the back of my wrestling shirt I wore to compete in H.S., and it was a constant reminder. I lived a very disciplined life, because of how much I valued God’s teachings. I trained like a madman in wrestling because I wanted to give everything I had for God’s glory. The singlet that I wore in H.S. had a roaring lion in the front, and this logo had a ton of symbolism to me. Jesus is called, the Lion of Judah, and every time I put on that singlet I was reminded of whom I was representing when I stepped out on the mat. My passion in wrestling was driven by the purpose that God had given great me strength and speed in order to represent him in the sport. I had a strong high school career that ended with winning four state championships and multiple national tournament championships.

When I entered into college, I knew God had placed me in the best situation at Ohio State. Tom Ryan, the head wrestling coach, was a strong Christian believer and he became a big influence on me pretty quickly. My freshman teammates, Bo Jordan and Kyle Snyder were also Christians, and having believers around me motivated me to grow more in my own faith. I won the NCAA championship as red-shirt freshman and the team won it’s first ever team championship; I can still remember that day like it was yesterday. It was one of the greatest days of my life. It brought my family immediate closer in many ways. My relationship with my brother and sister began to grow much more that it ever did in high school. I truly believe it was a God-driven event, because of the love that had grown from it through the whole OSU wrestling organization and my family. “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” Romans 8:28. Things were very upbeat for me, up until a few “storms” with injuries came at end of my sophomore year 2016 through now (summer 2019).

I was undefeated going into the NCAA tournament as a sophomore, and was feeling great. In the tournament I suffered a bad shoulder injury, and wrestled through it to finish third. I also had qualified for the 2016 US Olympic Trials earlier in the year, and decided to compete 3 weeks later. I ended up tearing my rotator cuff and joint capsule in the act of wrestling through the NCAAs and Olympic trials with the injury. That summer I spent nearly 8 months recovering from one of the most severe shoulder injuries the surgeon had ever seen. I suffered two other major injuries the next two years while competing at the highest level (see Injuries blog). Through the storm I grew closer with Christ, it made me lean more on his promises more than ever before. The apostle Paul suffered great tribulation and he shares in James 1:3-4 “because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything”. I have found that the trials of life can bring only one of two roads. The first road is falling backward in hopelessness/devastation, or bitter anger because of the unfortunate circumstances. The second road is self-realization, change and growth through perseverance in the storm. The first road is very negative, pessimistic and keeps a person from their best version, but the second is very positive, optimistic that leads to mental fortitude and growth opportunity. As I look back, God provided great people around me to help guide me in the path of growth. I focus each day on getting stronger not only physically, but stronger in my character. My heart has softened and I have noticed the way I look at life is a lot more optimistic. When people see me and hear me, I want them to see Jesus’ character and love. That is my greatest desire, and it has taken many trials (see Injuries blog), and an openness to change, for this desire to become in the forefront of my mind.

In conclusion, here are some of the practical things I do daily that help me stay focused on growing in my relationship with God. The morning is very important; spending time in prayer, listening to God the Father, worshiping him through song, while meditating on the joy of the Lord is critical. It gives me strength to get out of bed and attack each day. I also put up verses on my mirror that I look at every morning and pray for God to mold me into someone more like Him, renew a steadfast spirit, and create a pure heart in me. Secondly, I write down what I want to study in God’s word for the day, so I keep myself accountable. I also talk to God on frequent occasions, especially when I’m in the car driving. I attend a few small group bible studies and also lead one each week. In the small groups, I grow my friendship with other followers of Christ, learn from God’s word, and have deep conversation . Lastly, I end the day by praying for people, and thanking Him for some of the things that he has blessed me with.