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One of the hardest experiences for me in skating was also one of my last as a competitive skater. I was at nationals skating the Sophomore A dance, an event I skated the year before and placed 2nd in the elimination round but moved down to 4th in the finals. There I was a year later skating many of the same dances in the same event. Surely I’d make the podium this year. Nope. Somehow I ended up missing the podium again by even more this time. Usually that would be fine and I’d try again next time, but this was harder because in some ways, this was my last chance. After this nationals I was going to skate less and start focusing on college.
To make it worse, circumstances arose that forced me to quit skating. “Was it all for nothing?” I asked God. Many times throughout my skating journey, even though I loved skating, I wondered why I skated competitively. I wasn’t sure, and I questioned God about it often. He had always told me to have hope because I skated for a greater purpose. Not the kind of hope that says "I hope this will happen." Instead, it's the kind of hope where I knew there was a reason, because God said so. Naturally, I'd ask "What's the reason?" I struggled with this question but eventually concluded I wouldn’t fully know the reason until I got to ask Him in heaven one day.
About 7 years passed and I started hearing God many times tell me to return to skating. “But why?!” I thought. I was still struggling with understanding why I skated in the first place. I had a dream though, two actually. One of them was to choreograph my own free dance to a Christian song. My favorite experience in competitive skating years ago was my free dance event. I had often choreographed in my head to songs I would hear, even when I stopped skating. So finally, I obeyed God and went back to skating and was blessed to get the opportunity to fulfill that dream.
Then, God granted me my other dream that I never thought would happen. He made me a coach! It was a miracle how it all happened, and I am still living the dream today! God gave me hope that my skating had a greater purpose even when my circumstances told me otherwise. I’m glad I believed Him when He said that it would all be worth it, because it kept me going through those years so that my dreams would be fulfilled today. He is faithful. ♥
So why do you skate? It’s ok if you don’t know the true answer yet. It may not seem like a significant question now, but when you experience hard times like I did at my last competitive nationals, you will be forced to ask yourself the same thing. So in the hard times when you feel like skating is too hard, too much pressure, and you wonder why you put yourself through it, remember that Jesus offers us hope when our circumstances tell us to despair. He loves us enough that He died for us and everything we do wrong! Surely, He has an eternal purpose for every part of your life, including your skating experiences. Trust in Him and that He has brought you here to love and learn about skating for a bigger reason - one you may not know yet.
Hope in the Bible is related to the word “wait.” Many times we are waiting with anticipation for God to do something based on his previous faithfulness in our lives or other's lives. As you look for God with all your heart, you will surely find Him. Some say that the longer God makes you wait for something, the sweeter it will be. Remembering what He has done in the past helps us place our hope in Him to wait on our greater purpose. And so, just wait and listen. God will reveal the true reason you are a skater over time as well.
~ Endurance produces character, and character produces hope. Romans 5:4 ~
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