His Strength is Perfect

how much does a polar bear weigh?
heavy enough to break the ice??!
HI, i'm cali!
i'm thirteen. i love Jesus Christ. i am a sports f a n a t i c. softball and swimming are my hobbies, but soccer is my l i f e. ever since i could walk, i wanted to play soccer. i watched the brilliant feet of professional athletes move strategically around defenders. they never gave up, never quit trying, and never fell short of the goal. i started playing when i was four. i could dribble, do a throw-in, and get the ball through the two orange cones. that's all it took. i was hooked.

looking back, my life was a lot like many soccer games you watch. my soccer ability was good. god blessed me with quick legs, great control, strong kicks, and the ability to work around opponents and get to the goal. my life was good. i loved god. i had a pool in my back yard. i had tons of friends. i had a great family. i had a great coach. i was obsessed with soccer.

if you think about it, the goalie in soccer has a pretty sweet life. gets to sit back and watch the game, and trust her defenders to keep the opponents away from her goal. every once in a while, someone will take a shot off her. but she is trained to block those shots, and not let them affect the game.
so for a while, i was the goalie. i had seen some of my friends struggling, but for the most part, was able to just sit in my little 'box' and chill. sometimes, they would slip and something would come my way. it was never anything i couldn't handle.

and that's how it went...
you don't have to be a soccer scholar to know that playing in the rain is one of the most challenging, yet exciting things there is. slipping and sliding all over the field, knowing that your mom is too enthusiastic about the game to even worry about grass stains. the sale at the candy store doesn't even compare to the satisfaction of drenched cleats and flooded fields. and there is no greater gift than watching your odious opponent face plant while dribbling through the swampy green. but there's one person, who prays every morning that there will be no rain in the forecast. one person, who is checking the radar every fifteen minutes to make sure rain stays away. that person, is the goalie.

if you would, turn on your common sense for a minute. what could possibly be worse than shivering in the goalie box as a soaking soccer ball spins out of control at your slippery goalie gloves? the drenched ball weighs ten times more than it did before the rain, and the goalie is left with one thing:

f a i t h.

she knows in her heart that she can't stop this ball. as it barrels towards her in slow motion, all she can do is try to block it with her body. but fear overcomes her. the heaving boulder of a ball would knock her out in a heartbeat. she can't face this. she has one person to turn to.

so she looks up. she looks into the pouring rain, the gloomy gray clouds, and the big, shady sky. she lifts her eyes up. she whispers, "god. i need you. i need you now, more than ever. please, help me." as she whispers "amen," the ball seems to stop...right in her gloves. the goal is saved. her team wins. immediately, she goes back to god. how would that ball have ever gone right to her if it weren't for Him? lets be real. it wouldn't have. we know that with god, all things are possible.

so. welcome to my life! i was in the goalie box, living it up. i was a witness of my friends struggling, but never let it get to me. i had nothing to worry about. the game was going smoothly. life was going smoothly. until dad noticed that something wasn't right. i wasn't right. i was curved. i was bent. i was not straight. BOOM. that's when the rain came. i sat in the waiting room, praying for the rain to pass. praying that everything would be okay. that i would have nothing to worry about. then the doctor came out. he told me i had scoliosis. crud. the opponents getting past her defender. after a year of seeing doctors, wearing a brace, doing physical therapy, meeting with many chiropractors, and a lot of faith, that's when the ball took off. through the air it soared, coming straight at her face. the goalie panics. she doesn't know what to do. the rain comes. the ball comes harder. she looks up, and she prays. the goalie puts her trust in God. the ball is flying at her, full speed. the doctor says, "your spine is worse. you need surgery." and WHAM! right at her, the ball crashes into the goalie and knocks the wind out of her.

but the goalie stands strong.