Flourishing Life

“Every tomorrow has two handles. We can take hold of it by the handle of anxiety, or by the handle of faith.” – Author Unknown

Ginny Thrasher was a figure skater. She practiced and practiced and worked and worked, but never attained much success on the ice. During her freshman year in high school she decided there wasn’t a future for her in figure skating. She was, however, a pretty good shot, discovering this talent on her first ever hunting trip with her grandfather. She switched sports.

She ended up making a pretty decent shooter, competing in air rifle competitions and joining the West Virginia University shooting team last year. She helped the team win an NCAA championship and qualified for the Olympics, though no one expected her to win a medal.

A couple of weeks ago, competing against two Chinese shooters, both former gold medalists, she took the first gold awarded in this year’s games, the 10-meter air rifle competition. She kept her cool despite the odds against her and a fan in the stands blowing an air horn at random intervals. After earning the gold, nineteen-year-old Thrasher exclaimed, “This is beyond my wildest dreams!” 

Sometimes our plans don’t work out. We work hard and do our very best and still fall short of our goals. The temptation is to give into anxiety and doubts and give up. The answer, however, is to keep moving forward, keep asking questions, and keep looking for God’s direction. When God shows you the way, grab hold of the handle of faith!