"Finding Reasons to Give Thanks"

Lauryn Williams, the first American woman to medal in both the Summer and Winter Olympics, compares her first ride on a bobsled to hell on earth.

“It’s kind of like a roller coaster but without seat belts,” she says. “You’re bent over in a dark sled with no roof. And you’re heading downhill at 75 miles an hour with someone you don’t know that well, hoping they know how to drive because if they don’t you crash. It was horrific.”

She continues, “I spent my time swearing and praying and swearing and praying and wondering (what would happen) if I crashed and even saying, ‘God if you get me through this, I will never do it again.’ But I made it to the bottom, and in that moment I knew that my driver was counting on me to go back up and come back down, so I had to do it again.”

Having previously competed in three Summer Olympic games as a sprinter, Lauryn reinvented herself when she tried out for the bobsledding team. She now calls it the best decision she ever made.

Lauryn qualified for the team and traveled to Sochi for the 2014 Winter Olympics. The team earned the silver medal, losing the gold by less than .1 second.

“It was a little disappointing,” Lauryn says, “but when you realize you are one of only five people to medal in both the summer and the winter Olympic games, and that you’re the first American woman to have ever done it, I think you have to smile and recognize that God has done something amazing in your life, and you should be grateful for that opportunity.”

The bobsledding team didn’t win the gold medal as they had hoped, but Lauryn found plenty for which to be grateful. She used the gifts and talents God had given her, and she accomplished far more than she had ever dreamed.

Question: When is the last time you thanked God for doing something amazing in your life? Amazing doesn’t have to mean winning an Olympic medal. Are you finding ways to show gratitude to God even when things don't work out as you had hoped?

Prayer: Dear God, help me see the wonderful ways You are at work in my life and in the world around me. Remind me to thank You for the opportunities You have given me to trust You.