Encouragement 4 The Day: “A Must Read Story-Vonetta Flowers”

It’s a chill bump story. You know those stories where you can literally trace the hand of God in someone’s life? This is one of them. I heard Vonetta’s name mentioned while listening to Joel Osteen and had to Google her to really get an understanding about her story. I’ve outlined the skeleton version below using bullet points but you must visit her website Vonetta's Story to really understand the power behind her testimony. Here goes:

·         Since she was a young girl (9 years old), she dreamed of competing and winning a Gold Medal in the summer Olympics and trained practically her entire life in the hopes of fulfilling that dream.

·          At the 1996 trials she was unsuccessful in obtaining a spot on the team.

·         She spent the next 4 years training but unfortunately did not make the team then either.

·         She decided it was time to retire and possibly start a family.

·         Her husband noticed a flyer asking track and field athletes to try out for the bobsled team and tried to talk her into going. She and her husband knew nothing about bobsledding and essentially she thought the whole idea was ridiculous.

·         Her husband decided to participate anyway but pulled a hamstring and she ended up completing the test for him because she wanted to assist him with his dream. (That’s the part that really gave me chill bumps).

·         Long story short, she became the first person of African descent from any country to win a Gold Medal in the Winter Olympics and the first African-American to win a Gold Medal in the Winter Olympics.

What if she had given up? It blew my mind to see how God ordered her steps because of her determined spirit and not only did she get her Gold Medal but she also became a trailblazer! I’m planning on purchasing her book: “Running on Ice”.

What a powerful testimony.  Indeed, disappointments can be brutal and some may even knock us down but we can’t afford to give up! You simply do not know what mind boggling blessings God has lined up for you in your future. Please, don’t miss out on claiming your victories by giving up.