For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whosoever believes in Him shall have eternal life. AMEN!

Natasha's story

Natasha Cheng (wrestler, Brock University)
I reflect on the last 3 months, and its been tough. I am a second year Kinesiology student, wrestling for Brock University, at least I thought that is who I wrestled for. I look back over the last 10 months, and see all that God has taught me. It started in September when I rededicated my life to Him upon the realization that God was the only one who could completely satisfy me. But as a Student athlete I didn't quite understand yet where God fit into my wrestling world. I trained hard this year, wrestling for my coach, to gain respect for myself, and to feel as if I deserved to be in the room, training with my team mates. I thought I had the faith thing and the wrestling worked out, but I wasn't satisfied with my sport or my results.
Junior provincials, God had his hand in, when I decided to pray before the matches that I won, OUA's I lost, came dead last because I wanted to win for me, I thought by practicing the new metal techniques I learned in a sports psychology book, I would be able to do it by myself. It almost crushed me, when I lost, but I started training again for Nationals, it was my last year of being a junior, and if I won, I would get to represent Canada at Junior worlds. I wanted it, I wanted to go and compete ... But God had other plans.

It was the week end my team mates were away at CIS, I was training in the room, and I hit my head off the mat. I started to feel different, I tried to ignore it as long as I could, tried to push myself and get over it, but it was effecting every thing, my emotions, relationships, school. I finally accepted it the week before nationals, I would not be going because I was concussed.

I was devastated, I knew that God still loved me and was there, I just didn't know who I was, I felt like I lost my identity. I couldn't exercise for a while, I was no longer motivated to eat healthy, I didn't get to see my wrestling friends, and school was a struggle for me. It slowly began to dawn on me, that my identity was not that I was a Christian, at least it wasn't the most important part of my identity. To me I was an athlete. This whole time I valued my self worth, based on my achievements, and my failures. I guess you could say the light hurt my eyes, because I didn't like being me if i couldn't be an athlete.

I had decided at the beginning of the school year that I would go to National Training Camp(NTC), mostly because one of my friends gave away details about an amazing 24 hour event that I wanted to do. God provided ways to get me to NTC, He provided the money, the transportations, and the accommodations in such a way that I knew that He wanted me to be there. Throughout the week I was having minor symptoms of the concussion, nothing bad enough to stop me from playing the sports, but I was worried for the special( the 24 hour event). I didn't think I was going to be able to go for it with my all. Then, the day before the SPECIAL I was talking to my student link, and she helped me realized that there was unforgivness in my heart, and a lot of it was towards myself. From there I slowly started to let it go, and slowly I began to understand that God thought of me as pure and perfect, in His eyes I wasn't the flawed, faulty person I held onto.

The first event of the SPECIAL began, and the symptoms started, head aches and a little dizziness, then in the next event, the cross country run, I started surrendering to Him, my pain, my injury, my voice, and I stopped thinking about my concussion. He carried me through event after event, until I finished the last event and collapsed knowing I was done, and it didn't matter what my time on the run was, what place my team came in, all that mattered was that there was a glorious King, God, Friend and He was smiling down on me happy simply because I was His child.

I didn't realize then, but, after the second event of the special, my symptoms had stopped, God had healed my brain so that I could train and compete again. After the NTC I came back to school, and have been training with my team on the mats again. It hasn't been easy, there have been road blocks, but He has been there assuring me that I am His and He loves me always. I train different now, I train for God, because He has blessed me with opportunity and ability. I lose my focus sometimes and get down on myself but He is there to reassure, and remind me, its not about me.

Before NTC I would get down on myself for not winning, and wasting my time training when I wasn't happy with the result. Now I focus on God, knowing He is with me whether I win or lose, and fight not for results, but for the Glory of an almighty God.