"Help from her Friends"

In 2010, Olympic sprinter Lauryn Williams faced a difficult decision. Having already competed in two Olympics, did she want to continue sprinting and qualify for a third Olympics, or did she want to retire?

Adding to her decision, her father had recently passed away. She chose to take a break from running to grieve her father’s death and consider what to do next.

”I did some soul searching,” Lauryn says, “and I wondered, ’Where is the Lord in this?’ This God whom I serve and these Scriptures that I know, how do I know that they are true?”

Joining a Bible study led by an Athletes in Action chaplain, Lauryn discovered people who loved her because she was a child of God, not because she was an Olympic athlete. “Without that Bible study, I wouldn't have really turned my heart toward God and started on a path that was really living for the Lord,” she says.

She also attended Athletes in Action’s Ultimate Training Camp. At camp, she met athletes in various stages of their Christian growth. Camp became a safe place for her to nurture her relationship with God.

Lauryn wondered if she should start training again so she could use her athletic platform to serve the Lord.

Then, one night, her mother invited her to come for dinner. Throughout the evening, friends dropped in and encouraged her to keep running.They supplied the nudge she needed to return to training in 2011.

While considering her future, Lauryn was blessed to have friends and family members who helped her nurture her relationship with God. She received encouragement from them when she had to make a difficult decision.

Question: When you face decisions, where do you go and where do you look for support and prayer? Do you have some friends you can talk to and pray with? Are you looking for others to support in their times of need, and are you praying for them, too?

Prayer: Dear Jesus, thank you for the gifts of faith and friends. Help me make decisions that please You. Use my friends to help me know what You want me to do.