Participants:
Series Code: TDY
Program Code: TDY220070A
|
00:01 ♪ ♪
00:04 ♪ I want to spend my life mending broken people ♪ 00:14 ♪ I want to spend my life removing pain ♪ 00:26 ♪ Lord let my words heal a heart that hurts ♪ 00:35 ♪ I want to spend my life mending broken people ♪ 00:58 ♪ ♪ 01:07 Well hello friends and welcome back to another 3ABN Today 01:12 program. I'm here with my wife Rise (Ree see) 01:16 And we have a couple of guests today that have a tremendous 01:21 story of faith and courage. We're going to be talking about 01:24 track and field, we're going to be talking about running, we're 01:25 going to be talking about the experience of a young lady named 01:29 Lydia and her grandma is here also, Madeline's here to share 01:34 a little bit about the experiences that they had in 01:38 standing for God and standing for the Sabbath in the context 01:42 of track and field. So let's just introduce our guests, shall 01:44 we. 01:45 Yeah, absolutely. 01:46 Lydia, it's so good to have you here on our 3ABN Today program. 01:49 Well, I'm glad to be here. 01:52 And we are just are so blessed by reading your story and that 01:56 stand you took for God. I'm sure it took a lot of courage and a 02:00 lot of faith to do that. So we're looking forward to hearing 02:02 that story. 02:03 Well, it wasn't easy. 02:04 And you are here with a special family member. (Yes) Madeline 02:08 We are so glad that you're here also. 02:10 Hello. It's a pleasure to be here. 02:11 And who is Madeline to you? 02:14 She's my grandma. My biggest fan. (Probably) 02:20 You have a sweet nickname for your grandma. 02:22 Yes, I call her Nanny. (Nanny) 02:24 All right. Well Madeline and Lydia, we're glad you're here. 02:28 We're going to get right into your story, but before we do 02:30 that we're going to take a quick break for some special music. 02:34 So don't go away. We'll be right back. 02:36 "My Jesus, I Love Thee Medley Jayme Stabel. 02:43 ♪ ♪ 05:10 Wow, that was amazing. 05:13 Thank you Jayme Stabel, that was a blessing. 05:14 Yeah, Absolutely. You know as we get into this, I'm just kind 05:18 of curious if you want to share with us, Lydia. What 05:21 do you feel are 05:22 the qualities that really define who you are? What are you 05:24 passionate about? What do you think things in your life that 05:26 are you passionate about? 05:29 (Lydia Kittner) Well my family has made me who I am today. 05:34 We all live, we're a very close family, we all live on a farm 05:38 in Hillsboro, Ohio. My grandma lives there and my aunt and I 05:44 have three cousins and then my mom and dad and my sister. So 05:50 that has been a big part of growing up. Me and my sister and 05:54 all my cousins were homeschooled So my mom, you know, taught us 05:59 a lot and that's really made me who I am today. 06:03 Yep, we're kind of transplants from Nebraska and Kansas. 06:07 (Madeline Whittle) And we moved to our farm in 2012 and it's 06:13 been a real journey. 06:15 So when you're talking about a farm are you talking about like 06:18 chickens and cows and vegetable gardens and what? 06:25 Well, horses mainly. I have a horse. Obviously, we have dogs, 06:30 we love dogs, too many cats. And then my cousins 06:33 they have like goats and pigs and they have a lot of different 06:37 ...chickens. But I just have the horse and a dog. 06:41 Okay. Cool. 06:43 That sounds so idyllic. So you were homeschooled to what point? 06:44 Through high school. 06:48 Okay. But yet you were a track runner. Tell us how that 06:50 happened. 06:51 Yeah, so I've always been into running and basically any kind 06:55 of exercise. 06:57 I used to watch her. My house is situated where the pasture is 07:00 right out the door almost and I see her. There's big white 07:06 barrels out there and she would jump those from the time she 07:11 was...She'd put on barrel and she'd master that and then she'd 07:14 put another barrel and she'd jump that. She was very good at 07:19 broad jumping too or long jump. 07:21 That was my favorite thing to do when I was little, jump 07:24 barrels. I don't know why but... So I've always been into like 07:26 working out and stuff. And my mom got in contact with the 07:32 cross country coach at the local high school, because apparently 07:36 if you're home-schooled, you can do track. I didn't know that. So 07:39 at first, I didn't really want to do the cross country but Mama 07:44 was like, you should try it. You know you like running. And I was 07:47 like okay and so I tried it and I loved it. So you know I did 07:51 that two years and track two years. (Okay) So that's how that 07:56 all started. 07:58 So is track and cross country, are those two different things? 07:59 Yes. Cross country is like you run on grass and its three 08:05 miles, 3.1 miles. And track there's lots of different events 08:10 (Gotcha) So you can run long distance, short distance. You 08:14 can you know do field events, throwing and jumping. 08:17 Long jump and so on. (Yeah) Okay. So what kind of events 08:20 were you involved in with track? 08:22 So in 2021 which was my first year of track, I ran the 100, 08:29 400, 800, and then I did long jump. 08:32 Now how does 800 relate to 3.1 miles? Is that... 08:37 It feels very different for sure It's, I mean that's the longest 08:41 I raced so it feels more distance like than 100 meters. 08:47 but it still feels different than three miles. 08:51 Okay. And when you said 2021 so you were a junior then or a 08:57 sophomore, junior, okay. This was your last two years 08:59 basically of high school. 09:01 Yes. And then in 2022, my senior year, I ran the 200, the 400, 09:07 the 100 and long jump. 09:10 Okay. So what you would do is you would go from home school, 09:12 so you would go from your house right (Mmm hmm) and you'd just 09:15 go to the local high school where you were involved in the 09:19 track and field and you'd connect with the students there 09:22 that were running track and field? 09:24 Actually, our school doesn't have a ton of money so we would 09:29 practice at the elementary parking lot. We don't even have 09:32 a track. So we'd meet at the elementary and we'd run and 09:35 those are some of the best memories I have are just running 09:38 and training and having fun with the team all together there 09:43 So what kind of high school? What are we looking at as far as 09:45 size. So you're homeschooled and the high school is what 200 09:48 people, 500 people, a thousand people. 09:51 I think there's 150 students. 09:52 A hundred and fifty. So it's a small high school. 09:54 Very small. Pretty small, yeah. 09:55 You integrated well. You got to know your fellow track... 09:59 Yeah, I feel like I don't know everybody at the school 10:01 obviously, but the people who run like track and cross country 10:04 I feel like I got to know them fairly well over several years. 10:08 What were your favorite events? 10:11 Definitely like in track definitely the 400. 10:15 I feel like, I don't know, the track is like 400 meters so 10:19 that's like the ideal race if you ask me. 10:21 And you were undefeated your senior year in the 400. 10:25 Yeah for a while. But yeah so the 400 was my favorite. 10:31 So did you know you were fast when your mom knew you were fast 10:34 Um I mean okay maybe a little bit yeah. I had always run with 10:39 my sister and I always liked racing my sister. I felt like I 10:44 mean I walked into cross country 10:47 feeling like yeah I was pretty fast. Yeah. 10:50 Okay. Did you always beat your sister when you raced your 10:52 sister? 10:54 Well depends. Yeah actually she beats me it seems like at 10:58 everything. But yes. 11:00 She's four years older. 11:02 She's older okay. So did she ever get any track and field 11:06 of it was just you? 11:07 She didn't, no. She probably would have liked it though if 11:10 she had. 11:11 Okay. All right. 11:13 So tell us a little bit about the events that you started 11:15 engaging in. And as you progressed in it did it light a 11:19 fire in you that you were like man, I love this. 11:22 Well since I had always run distance like 100 meter was 11:25 really fun because I'd never ran anything like that. So it 11:29 was kind of fun to like see how fast I could go you know. The 11:34 400 added a little bit of that grit to it that like it's more 11:39 of a fight toward the finish which I really liked that. 11:42 That's probably why it's my favorite race. And then long 11:45 jump was really fun because it's very like, it's a technique 11:50 totally and so it took me a while to get the technique down. 11:55 Okay. So when you're talking about running 100 and you're 11:59 all out but when you run a 400 you have to hold back a little 12:02 bit and you have to pace yourself a little bit or is that 12:04 how it works? 12:05 A little bit. I mean you don't want to run the first 100 like 12:08 you're running 100 meters but you got to run as fast as you 12:13 can the whole time knowing how far you have to go. I don't know 12:17 if that makes sense. 12:18 Well, it does in a sense. Now I never really ran track and field 12:20 but in seventh grade I was involved in track and field 12:23 and the guy that was kind of telling me how to do this, I'd 12:26 never done it before, told me don't run super-fast when you 12:30 first, leave. Now pace yourself. So we're all on the line and 12:34 everyone takes off super-fast and I panicked. I thought 12:37 they're all going to leave me behind and so I ran super-fast 12:39 and by the time I got about half way around the track I was done. 12:42 And there were some guys who held back and they just started 12:45 passing us and they just... 12:46 And that's how she ran. She would run. There could be four 12:52 or five people ahead of her and then she'd round that last 12:55 corner and she had amazing ability to have the reserve of 13:02 power to finish and beat, you know, usually was first. 13:07 Oh that must have been fun to watch. 13:09 Oh, it was amazing. 13:10 They come from behind. 13:11 It was amazing. All of our family went to all of her meets 13:15 and we were her...we would strategically place ourselves 13:19 around the track and yell at her as she rounded the first corner 13:24 she went the second or whatever the race was. And if it was long 13:31 jump we were there for her. 13:32 Yeah and there they are. 13:34 Yeah, that's my family. They're so supportive. I could go on 13:39 forever about them. 13:41 So these are the folks that live on the farm? 13:43 Yes all of us live out on the farm. 13:46 Beautiful. 13:47 And I think I saw you in there Madeline. 13:49 Yes, I was the one like this. Yeah. Where I came from I'm the 13:55 only girl in five so my brothers were very competitive in 13:59 football and baseball and running so I got a lot of that 14:05 when I was young so I do like to be a spectator. 14:09 And every meet Nanny would write me a note with a little poem or 14:15 leave me a like a fruit leather thing to eat. You know 14:19 encouragement some Bible verses on it. At every meet my sister 14:23 would come and she'd help me warm-up because it's so cold 14:28 during track that I'd have like a sweatshirt on and pants and 14:33 so when I'd start to get hot she'd take them and hold them 14:36 for me. My mom was always making me the best food before so I was 14:40 you know ready and had enough carbs and stuff. And just my 14:46 whole family. I could go on and on about they always showed up 14:49 You know, my dad would always video. We'd get home after a 14:53 meet and we'd watch the video so that was always nice to have. 14:57 So you have now a story that ties into your faith. You've 15:04 been home-schooled, you're out on the farm, you're going to a 15:07 local high school and you've joined a track team there. It's 15:10 a small high school. You're out in the elementary school parking 15:13 lot practicing. You find that you love running, now you love 15:18 certain events more than others. You were raised jumping over 15:21 barrels so this is all in your DNA almost. It's like this is my 15:25 thing to do and I just love this and I can imagine there's a lot 15:27 of young people who can relate to that story. You've found 15:30 something you truly love. But now you come to this place in 15:34 your story where what you truly love to do hits a roadblock in 15:40 a sense because you're also a young lady of faith. And your 15:44 faith in your God in what you believe the Bible teaches you 15:49 have to put that before the things that you love the things 15:51 that you love in this world and so sometimes those things come 15:55 to a head right? There's a little bit of a disconnect from 15:59 our faith and the world (a collide) a collide truly yeah. 16:03 And so tell us a little bit about that. Tell us about your 16:06 story in relation to your faith. What is your faith and where 16:10 does that fit into the story and how did you relate that faith 16:14 to your love for track? 16:15 Well I have always felt like racing on Sabbath isn't 16:23 something that I wanted to do. Just part of my belief I guess. 16:26 And so with track, it was nice because like most of the meets 16:33 up until the tournaments which is like districts, regionals and 16:37 state, they were all during the week. But cross-country only 16:43 like four of the races weren't on Saturday. (Okay) So with 16:49 track I would be able to run like a lot of them up until 16:55 state actually. The only one I had trouble with was state 16:57 finals. 16:59 Okay. So you're running track and you're running cross 17:03 countries still or just... 17:04 Well I'm graduated now so I'm not running them in college now. 17:07 Yeah but I mean back in your high school time. 17:10 Oh yes. 17:11 You're doing track and you're doing cross country? 17:13 Yeah, they're different times of year though so...Cross country's 17:16 fall and track is spring. 17:18 Oh okay. Okay, all right. So when you say Sabbath you're 17:21 talking about the seventh day Sabbath, you're talking about 17:23 Saturday. Okay so there's a little bit of a conflict that's 17:27 coming in there between some of the events that you're 17:30 involved in? 17:32 Yes. We have a league meet which is a pretty big deal for like, I 17:38 don't know, for a team. Our team is pretty good. The boys' team 17:42 is like really good and so they usually win it and so it's like 17:46 a pretty big deal for us and I ran into some trouble 17:49 with because that's on Friday, the league meet. And they move 17:52 so slow. And so sundown's coming and my race is coming and we're 17:59 always praying. In 2021 was the first time I had trouble with 18:04 sundown and track. My 800 was my last event and the sun was going 18:13 down and it was moving so slow. We were worried that it wasn't 18:17 going to work. And so we were praying and Nanny and Mama and 18:21 my whole family was praying and praying. And I actually at the 18:27 time didn't even realize what was totally going on. I was just 18:30 warming up for my event you know But it worked that I raced and 18:34 right after I crossed the finish my dad said that the time was 18:41 officially sundown right after I finished. (Wow that's close) So 18:44 I was like, I was really touched by that the way that God made it 18:48 all work out and Nanny how did you feel about that? 18:51 Well, I just was, like you said, praying and praying that the 18:58 Lord would work it out and His will would be done. And I think 19:02 the outcome of that was a lot of kids when they watched you 19:08 not be able to compete in cross country when you were 19:12 at the top there as well and when they watched you not run on 19:17 Sabbath and you were a witness to them. You related to me that 19:24 you had kids come up to you and ask you about the Sabbath and 19:27 you took them books and you started praying with your team 19:32 mates and I thought that was an amazing thing how the Lord was 19:40 able to bring something like that witness out of cross 19:47 country and track. It was just, it was just amazing to me. But 19:51 yeah, we prayed and prayed. That 800 it was like, I mean, I had 19:55 black hair before I had... But it was amazing. 20:02 And it all worked out like really well because I didn't 20:05 even know there was an award for the person who, the female, they 20:11 have one for females and males. Obviously, I was up for the 20:14 female one. And the person who gets the most points at this 20:19 meet gets the award. It's called the female shack athlete of the 20:24 year and so if you get first place you get more points than 20:27 if you got fourth. So that is how they count the points. 20:30 I actually ended up getting it. And so I didn't even know that 20:34 was the thing. And I think we have a picture of me and my 20:39 Grandpa with my award from that. So I felt very blessed. 20:44 I remember being like the whole next day after that just in awe 20:49 of what had all happened. 20:50 Yeah, so if I get this right you have long distance in the fall. 20:58 Track in the fall. 20:59 Cross country in the fall. And through that time you're 21:04 establishing relationships and you don't have any meets on the 21:06 Sabbath except it's you know on Fridays, right? So it's like 21:09 building your faith during this time, it sounds like to me and 21:12 it's giving you opportunity to witness. 21:16 So the track, the fall, if I'm correct on this, the track is in 21:21 the spring and the cross country is in the fall and most of the 21:24 cross country is on Sabbath. Right? (Yes) So before the track 21:28 came in the fall a lot of your friends were seeing that you 21:31 weren't actually participating in the Sabbath events. (Uh-huh) 21:35 And they started asking questions about that. 21:37 And the coach. The coach knew. Her mom had explained to the 21:41 coach in cross country that she would not be competing on 21:44 Sabbath. He said that's fine as long as she comes to practice. 21:49 Well then, he discovered how good she was and then there was 21:54 some pressure there to run, you know. 21:56 This was cross country? 21:58 Cross country and track, but first, cross country because it's 22:00 in the fall and that was the first thing that she did. 22:03 So what did they say, couldn't she just what? 22:06 Couldn't she just run, couldn't she just run. It's a major meet. 22:11 A major event in the cross country field for her. 22:17 And I did feel like there was pressure to run. I did feel like 22:20 my coach, he respected that I wasn't going to run and I think 22:27 he knew that I had made up my mind. So he would be like, you 22:32 know, I understand that that's what makes you you but if you 22:36 could run, man. I love to see you do it. 22:38 This reminds me of Chariots of Fire. Like Chariots of Fire. 22:42 It was Sunday then and this is Sabbath. So did the cross 22:47 country start...I mean was that the first test was cross country 22:51 came first and then it was the spring came after that in your 22:55 junior year. How did that go? 22:57 Yeah, I would say cross country was a little more black and 23:02 white I guess because you either show up to the meet and run or 23:05 don't show up. So the Saturday meets I wasn't even there for. 23:09 Wasn't even there. 23:11 So I'd text them, how'd the race go? But I wasn't actually there. 23:14 With track I was faced with it's sundown, sundown's coming and... 23:21 You're trying to get this race in before the sun...So you're 23:25 there, (I'm actually there) it's Friday, you're wanting to 23:29 participate in the event so you're feeling a lot more 23:32 pressure because like you said in that one event, you were able 23:34 to run and finish before the sundown actually came. 23:38 (Mm-hmm) Because she'd been there for several hours before 23:41 that and then sundown was coming. 23:45 Waiting for the slowness of all of the other events that were... 23:48 Exactly. Gotcha 23:50 But that year even went on. It was like a great season. Made it 23:55 all the way to state prelims which are on Friday, but it's 24:00 like earlier in the day so the sundown wasn't a problem. Finals 24:04 are on Saturday but I did not qualify for finals so that 24:10 wasn't really an issue. I think they have a picture of state 24:15 2021. (Let's take a look at that picture) Me and my cousins 24:17 and my sister. 24:19 So that's you on top there? 24:21 Yes, that's me on top. 24:22 Why are they lifting you up? Did you win? 24:26 I didn't win but I think they were proud of me because they 24:27 (inaudible) These are your cousins and your sister? (Yeah) 24:30 Which one's your sister? 24:32 She is on the right with glasses I guess they all have sun 24:35 glasses on. 24:37 I guess they all have sun glasses. She's got shorts on? 24:38 Yeah. She's the best. She's the best sister in the world. 24:41 All right, that's so cool you have a great relationship with 24:44 her. All right so now just take us in step by step. So you're 24:48 going from...you've got your cross country that is Sabbath 24:53 and you're trying to make sure that cross country is something 24:57 that you know you take a stand for the Sabbath on. Your coach 25:00 knows that and that's black and white like you said because 25:05 you're either there or you're not there. But then you move 25:06 into the spring and you've got your track meets and your track 25:10 meets a lot of them take place on Friday and so you can go but 25:14 if they're slow as they progress then you're getting 25:18 closer to sundown and you're not wanting to race on sundown but 25:21 you make it, you're okay with that. And we're talking now... 25:25 you mentioned there's different types of events. There's the 25:27 local one, I wasn't clear on what that was and then there's 25:30 the state and as you transition from the local to the state is 25:35 there more Sabbath conflict that takes place in that 25:38 transition? 25:39 Um, league was on Friday like I mentioned. The rest of them 25:43 were all like weekdays so they weren't an issue and then 25:48 district was, I don't know, was it like a Wednesday (Wednesday) 25:52 and Friday. 25:58 Is a league like local high schools? 25:59 It's like...it's our league I don't know there's like 13 26:04 schools or 14 somewhere in there. 26:06 And so we raced those schools like a decent amount. 26:12 They have D3 D...Don't they have... 26:15 Well that's once you get to districts, there's D1 there's D2 26:20 and there's D3. I don't know. I know there's four regions in 26:26 Ohio. So regionals you're racing a fourth of the state. And then 26:30 at state, you're racing all of the state. 26:33 And districts you're doing something in between those two? 26:34 Is there like 16? districts? 26:38 I don't remember that. 26:40 So you go from regional to district and then you go to 26:43 State? 26:44 District, regional and then state. 26:46 Oh district, regional, and then state. Okay. So how does the 26:49 Sabbath, how does that conflict grow and develop. What is your 26:53 situation. Is your coach just always like yeah we understand 26:56 it's okay. Wish you could but we know you can't. How does that 27:01 how does that work? 27:02 Well, the stakes do get higher. Because to get to regionals you 27:05 have to place in the top four at district then at regionals 27:10 top get to state you have to be in the top four at regionals. 27:15 and so you know 2022 track season the leagues meet again 27:22 and we had the same conflict with the Sabbath and it ended up 27:29 that my last race was the 200 this year and the sun was going 27:34 down and I was like, I don't know what to do. I don't know 27:38 where to draw the line you know. 27:39 There was delay after delay. This race should have been 27:45 completed way before the Sabbath but it came right down to the 27:47 wire. 27:48 And I was praying because I knew that God had done it last 27:52 year, you know he could hold the sun back, he could make it 27:55 all work out and Nanny had even contacted 3ABN, 28:01 I had called I think the day of the meet and talked to Rosa and 28:08 she's a student at Andrews University and she had explained 28:12 to me that she was a soccer player and she understood what 28:17 Lydia was facing with the Sabbath. Then on Monday, I called 28:25 Pastor Dan. I thought I was calling Rosa because I wanted 28:33 to tell her because she was very interested and tell her how it 28:37 worked out. Well then I got Pastor Dan Morikone and he 28:41 explained to me how that Andrews took some of the calls 28:46 on the weekend and so I explained to him what I had 28:52 talked to Rosa about her running on the Sabbath and that what she 29:00 did in maintaining her integrity with God at that race was 29:05 amazing. I mean I was in my appointed spot across the track 29:09 (we were all praying) I was praying. I was shaking because 29:16 I was praying that she would make, not that she would be able 29:20 to run but that she would make the decision that would glorify 29:24 God and build her faith as a young woman. So I was praying, 29:30 praying, everyone was praying. And she was running if she had 29:35 won this race, her times were such she would have won it. She 29:42 would have run the conference female athlete of the year. So 29:47 this was a big thought, I'm sure in her mind. So she was out 29:52 talking to her competitors. She's always been very outgoing 29:54 She got to know her competitors well and they became friends 29:58 So she was talking to the top competitors out there. I don't 30:02 know what she was saying because I was across the field. But I 30:05 saw her and I was praying that the Lord's will be done and then 30:08 I saw her she went to her competitors and she turned 30:16 around and she walked off the field. And I just thought God 30:21 you are amazing you know that you would give her that amount, 30:29 I mean with all the hoopla is what I would say, all the 30:34 excitement of possibly...and to win and put God first. To me 30:46 that was like Deborah, that was like Miriam, that was like 30:50 Esther who said for such a time as this. I mean for her in her 30:56 young life in this world today that was big. And I was so 31:00 thankful. And I asked her later if it was hard because I knew it 31:07 was but I wanted her to tell me about it. She said It was hard 31:12 Nanny but it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. 31:17 It was hard but I did feel a peace about it. I decided that 31:23 if it was 8:22, I don't know how I arrived at that number but and 31:29 I wasn't on the track then I wasn't going to run. And I was 31:32 praying that I would get on the track quick but it didn't happen 31:35 Her coaches were wanting her to get on that track and race and 31:41 it was a lot of pressure for a young girl in a position like 31:45 that. 31:46 I felt like they did support me though in that. Everyone like my 31:49 coached texted me the next day and said she was so proud of me 31:52 for standing for what I believe in. And I was like that it felt 31:57 good like I not only didn't get to race but it felt good as the 32:01 tournament started happening I think everyone thought that I 32:06 was going to run at state which I don't really know why because 32:09 I had for two year not ran on Saturday. 32:12 And the district was a week later after that race that she 32:16 forfeited the 200 on. The district was a week later and 32:21 she did get district female athlete of the year, because it 32:27 was I think on Wednesday or Tuesday or something like that. 32:28 But a lot of pressure. 32:31 Yeah, as the meets got bigger obviously, I wanted to run even 32:37 more because the stakes are higher. And made it past 32:43 districts, regional. Well I was actually the regional champ in 32:44 the 400 which is pretty cool. You know, go to state and a lot 32:50 of people start asking me, So when you go to state finals, and 32:54 I'm like I'm not even qualified yet but okay, you're going to 32:58 run on Saturday, aren't you? 33:00 Who was asking you that? 33:02 My coaches, my teammates a little bit. My coach told me 33:07 that if you qualify I think that's God telling you that you 33:11 should run, you know, that he's okay with you running. And it's 33:15 like I mean for me I just decided I don't run on 33:19 Saturday. I know I have lots of friends that do race on 33:23 Saturday. For me, I've decided that's not best for me and so 33:27 I was like I'm going to do what I from the start have felt like 33:33 was best. And at state, it was actually an amazing day. It 33:44 really was. There's videos of my 100 and my 400. That's what I 33:48 qualified for. 33:50 Okay, let's take a look at those videos then. (Okay) 33:51 Step us through this. This is the 100 which goes so fast. 33:56 I'm just running 33:58 as fast as I could and those girls are so fast. I felt like I 34:01 was way behind everybody. But I just ran as fast as I could. 34:05 Ended up breaking my school record which I'd be been going 34:09 for all year and I finally got it. So I was like over the moon. 34:12 Your personal record too wasn't it? 34:14 Uh-huh. My personal record. 34:16 All right, so step us through this video. 34:17 This is the 400 (your favorite) Yeah. I knew a lot of the girls 34:25 in the lanes beside me were very fast. That girl on the inside 34:29 there I knew she runs I don't know 57 or something. So I'm 34:35 like I'm just going to try to stick with her as much as I can 34:38 and just fight it out. You know you get to the 200 mark and you 34:42 think how am I going to race 200 more meters? But then... 34:48 And this is the one that's about once around the track? (Yeah) 34:50 Is that right? Okay. 34:52 One lap. And you stay in your lane the whole time. 34:53 And Grandma says that you start kind of at a pace but then you 34:57 start pulling up and passing everyone towards the end. That 34:59 makes for an exciting race. And there you are. 35:01 It's really hard to hold form on the last stretch. I just move my 35:08 legs and arms as fast as I can and just trying to hold form. 35:09 You have to remember these are the top female athletes in high 35:14 school in the state of Ohio. And she did a personal record on 35:18 that one too. (Really). 35:19 So I ended up qualifying in both of them for finals which was 35:25 Saturday. 35:27 Okay. This is state finals? (Uh-huh) Okay. 35:28 And I...it was hard. State was such a good day but at the 35:36 same time it was a little hard because my teammates that had 35:41 supported me at league, at district, at regional they 35:46 didn't really show up. You know a couple of them, like a couple 35:49 of them did text me and stuff but it was hard because I felt 35:53 a little abandoned somewhat. 35:56 Her coach was there but didn't talk to her. (Yeah) 35:58 So everything changed that support, the whole atmosphere 36:04 that you had with your coach and that you had with your teammates 36:07 It all changed when you qualified for state but when 36:09 they knew that you weren't going to run. (Yeah) Because state was 36:12 on Sabbath. (Yeah) It wasn't like a sundown issue or a maybe 36:16 issue. Did you go there? You hadn't gone to the track and 36:19 field. Do you go there? 36:21 I did not go on Saturday, no. (Okay) 36:23 I prayed that it would like thunderstorm and they'd cancel 36:27 it. Because if there's lightening they will cancel it. 36:31 So I was like praying but that didn't happen. 36:33 No, it was a test of faith. 36:35 But her semifinals were very nice because she got to run in 36:38 Columbus at the Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium which was very 36:42 exciting. 36:44 And I got PRs in both of my races. 36:46 The Lord really blessed her. 36:49 And so I did feel like I was very blessed that day. You know 36:55 obviously, my family was just as supportive as they've always 36:56 been. They didn't change. But it was hard because a lot of the 37:01 support I had received did not come through anymore. Yeah. 37:07 It didn't show up. There was people that understood my faith 37:13 that did reach out and be very supportive. A lot of friends 37:18 from a Bible study had a lady call me and talk to me about her 37:22 story when she was younger, the things she struggled with and 37:26 with her job as an FBI agent and working with the Sabbath and 37:31 how it all worked out and somethings didn't work out. 37:33 You know I had lots of friends 37:34 from you know my mom's childhood even that she stays 37:38 in contact with that wrote me letters. I have a box of letters 37:43 that people wrote me to encourage me. So I did have a 37:47 lot of support. 37:50 In the church it was amazing. You know because they were all 37:55 They would come, some would come to the local meets and they were 38:01 praying for her and wanting her to honor God. You know and too 38:06 and it was hard you know and I think they understood that. But 38:13 it's amazing you know when you do what you think is right and 38:16 leave the consequences to God how he always comes through for 38:20 you and he did for her. 38:21 Yeah and I think one of the things I really love about your 38:23 story is I think that one of the things we really need is 38:27 experiential, experimental faith in religion and a walk with God. 38:30 Right. A lot of times we approach God very cerebral and 38:35 yet he wants to be in all of our decision-making and step us 38:48 you know he's real. Your relationship with him deepens 38:49 into intimacy and that's so much more valuable even than becoming 38:50 what was the award that you were going to be, the female athlete 38:52 of the year. You know what I'm saying? And we were talking 38:54 about this the other day about what do we give up when we give 38:57 up all for Christ. You know we think Ah some people, they could 39:01 have made millions being maybe a movie star or could...What is 39:05 that. That's nothing. We give up nothing in comparison and you 39:09 can see from your face that was disappointing. But at the same 39:13 time really rewarding. 39:15 And when we step out in faith what a faith builder that is for 39:19 you and for not only her but we just saw the rippling effect of 39:24 not only the kids at church but her teammates. And you know I 39:31 think she just planted seeds. You know this side of eternity 39:33 she'll never really know how... 39:34 Well it's hard though because I didn't feel like I planted seeds 39:37 if I'm honest 39:39 I felt like no one cared. So it's hard to do something hard 39:43 and no one care. It's like I wish it would have been like 39:48 oh everyone was so touched by me and maybe they were but I didn't 39:52 feel that. So it's hard to know that I'm doing this hard and no 39:57 on even notices. It didn't even feel like it mattered. And it 40:02 felt like I did it for them to notice and I guess that's... 40:09 you know you have to do it for God, not other people. But it was 40:13 hard because I wanted them to notice. I wanted them to support 40:17 me and see that what I was doing was hard but I felt like they 40:20 were like upset that I was doing it. 40:23 And I think like Rise said when you have an experiential faith 40:26 you know you have to understand that it is a process and you 40:37 know Rome wasn't built in a day and that's probably not a good 40:43 word but it wasn't built in a day and her being a young person 40:47 and standing up for what she believed wasn't easy. People 40:54 weren't nice, people were nice you know. But she would have 40:57 never known that experience if she hadn't stepped out and said 41:02 this is the day, this is my Sabbath. I've always done this. 41:07 And I think that that was the ripple effect, that was the 41:13 seeds being planted for the kingdom. Because some of those 41:17 young people will look back and they'll say wow, you know. She 41:22 stood for something she believed in. Not a lot of young people 41:26 might have done that. 41:28 That's true. I can look back on my experience years before I 41:31 became a Christian and the Christians that came into my 41:34 life and sowed the seeds at the time I couldn't care less. 41:37 I just couldn't care less. But now I can think of all of those 41:42 situations when I was in Marshall arts when this guy 41:44 witnessed to me, when I was at a party and this lady witnessed to 41:47 me. I can think of all of those and they were seeds that were 41:49 sown. And there's going to be a lot of people, not just people 41:51 that you've interacted with through track and field and 41:56 through you know cross country but people that are going to be 42:00 watching this testimony that you're giving, you're sharing 42:03 right now. You know, if you had never taken that stand you 42:05 wouldn't be sitting here right now. Your grandma wouldn't be 42:08 sitting here right now, right? Madeline wouldn't be here, you 42:11 wouldn't be here and you wouldn't have this opportunity 42:13 and so God had this in mind. God had a greater influence and a 42:17 greater impact in mind than even at district and the regionals 42:22 and the state and the influence you had right there. He has 42:25 something greater in mind in two ways: One way is the character 42:30 development. Rome wasn't built in a day. We develop our 42:33 character day by day. We make decisions that take us to the 42:36 next stage of development and the next stage of maturity. But 42:40 also the testimony. The words keep coming to my mind, Dare to 42:44 be a Daniel, dare to stand alone Dare to have a purpose firm 42:47 Dare to make it known. 42:50 and what an impact Daniel has had on the world. But did he 42:56 know it? Was he aware of it? He felt the king's wrath, his 43:01 friends felt the king's wrath. They didn't really know the 43:03 impact they were...you know a lot of their friends their 43:06 fellow Hebrews didn't take the stand and then kind of looked 43:09 at them, you know. And they were always after them and no one 43:11 really acknowledged it and even Nebuchadnezzar. That guy went 43:14 backward you know and like you know witness to him and here he 43:18 is you know turning everything upside down. So we don't always 43:23 see the impact. 43:24 I picture in heaven I guess you know as a mom when my son was 43:29 high school age and doing sports you know I'd go crazy. It didn't 43:33 matter what he was doing just like you're cheering and you're 43:35 so excited to see them do what they're doing. But I picture you 43:39 know...Okay so there was some girl ran that race and won it 43:43 and the crowd went wild. Right They were like screaming. But 43:46 you turned around and you looked at your watch and you went like 43:49 this, I picture the angels in heaven, the crowds in heaven 43:53 going wild. They were cheering you on and they were so excited 43:58 about what decision you made. We were just talking last night 44:02 on our pillows about Jonathan and how the angels went wild 44:06 when Jonathan, we were talking about the Jonathan in the Bible, 44:09 who was Saul's son, the best friend of David, who just 44:13 stepped, who just kept humbling himself and did he receive any 44:17 approbation or good job Jonathan here on earth. No. 44:20 His dad was upset with him. 44:21 But the angels were probably like having a party, you know, 44:24 yeah like what an amazing human in the decision that he made. 44:28 And that's so important because when you look at the history of 44:33 the Bible it's always, always the bigger picture how it all 44:38 fits like a puzzle and how important it was for Lydia to 44:42 do what she did. But that ripple effect and the things that we 44:46 don't even know about now and may never know about and how 44:51 they impact eternity for each one of us. 44:54 I think it's important to stand even if it doesn't seem like 44:58 it's going the way you want it to, stand for what you believe 45:03 in when things don't go your way because if you don't stand 45:09 for what you believe in when things go wrong or not as 45:12 perfect as you want them to then you'll probably never stand 45:15 because not a lot of things work out perfectly. 45:18 That's right. So it's vital for us to experience that. I was 45:22 thinking about again this story of Jonathan. There's a statement 45:27 in the book Education 156, 157, it talks...Because you look at 45:32 the life of Jonathan and really it seems like it was almost a 45:37 John-the-Baptist type of life you know where he just kind of 45:40 denied himself, stayed loyal to his father. You know his father 45:44 wanted to take him out and basically, he died by his 45:46 father's side. He could have been king after his father but 45:48 he was just like no this is not what God wants me to do. And 45:52 this statement in Education says that of all the names that are 45:56 cherished in heaven there are two-Jonathan and John the 46:00 Baptist. And so I love what you were saying Rise about this 46:03 whole picture because we see the accolades on earth and we see 46:09 the accolades in heaven and normally they're exactly the 46:12 opposite. If we're getting accolades on earth there's no 46:14 accolades in heaven, right, because things that we're 46:17 praised for on earth are really a contradiction, a turning away, 46:21 of the things in heaven. But when we don't get the accolades 46:24 on earth many times accolades in heaven are, they're just going 46:27 nuts. 46:29 And as much as I loved watching her compete if she had continued 46:33 if she had run that race and hadn't tapped her watch and 46:37 turned around and walked away I would have loved her just as 46:41 much and you know that's the thing about God. We disappoint 46:47 him continually but his love is always perfect toward us and 46:52 you know he really is an awesome God. 46:58 So what advice would you give to someone who is in a similar 47:02 situation that you were in? 47:07 Probably do what you know is right because I mean, I could 47:12 have run and I don't think that would have been a bad choice 47:16 necessarily but I think I would have regretted it because the 47:21 past three years I had not run. Then the last race that I 47:24 do in my high school career I would have raced on the Sabbath 47:29 and I think that would have not set as well with me because, I 47:34 don't know. I guess just the advice I would give would be I 47:38 encourage you to stand for what you know is right, even when 47:44 it's not easy. 47:46 So if you had to do it all over again, you know, you went 47:48 through the whole thing again knowing what you know now 47:51 looking back at everything that you experienced, et cetera, 47:54 you know would you do anything different? 47:56 I probably wouldn't. I wouldn't have run still. I mean knowing 48:04 what I know now would have made it a little easier back then. I 48:10 don't know because when you're in the moment it just so much 48:11 more real. You know the night before state, the night after I 48:17 had raced and the next day was Sabbath and I wasn't going to 48:20 race it was hard because I was in the moment. On the other side 48:25 of it I feel like I see clearer the situation. I don't know. 48:32 And I think that kind of it sounds like what you're saying 48:33 is that there is nothing that you could do to make God love 48:40 you less but there's nothing you could do to make God love you 48:44 more. He loves you. 48:47 You know, just listening to your story and then hearing your 48:51 grandmother say that I just think that the first question I 48:55 asked you about what's one of the most defining things that 48:57 make you who you are, right, tell us a little bit about 49:00 and I think that just the fact that you have been brought up in 49:04 that atmosphere with a grandmother, with a family, 49:05 with parents on this farm. I mean it just sounds so beautiful 49:08 But what makes it really beautiful is this understanding 49:12 of who God is 49:13 and of his incredible love for you. When we live a life 49:16 that's based on that foundation you know you're going to go 49:19 forward conquering and to conquer. And I was thinking of a 49:23 verse where it says that it's not to the person who runs but 49:26 of God who shows mercy. It's in Romans. Maybe you can say it 49:29 better than I just did, my own paraphrase, but in other words, 49:32 yeah we can run. I want to run for God's honor and glory but at 49:36 the end of the day, it's all about his mercy and that 49:40 foundation you just (unintelligible) 49:41 And that's what's a real thing as a young person. 49:44 I think I am very blessed to have a family that taught me, 49:48 you know, what I know now. From the time I was little I've 49:53 always been a Seventh-day Adventist so I am grateful 49:58 to have been taught all those things. 50:01 But you made it your own. (Yeah) 50:05 You know when you look back at your journey, what was... 50:07 what do you think was the most difficult thing of everything? 50:11 You know I think about track and field, when I think about cross 50:17 country I think the most difficult thing is training 50:20 every day. But it seems like that was a given to you. 50:25 You just loved doing that. 50:26 Even yesterday I'm still...I mean I'll always train. So just 50:30 because track's over or happening I'm always going to 50:35 train. So. 50:36 She just ran in a...she's always running and so just ran in a 50:41 race in Minster, Ohio, and for the third year straight got 50:45 first place in her age group. So she's just a runner. It's 50:48 just part of her DNA. 50:49 I think it's in my blood. 50:53 You're still running right now. (Yes) Okay. So it wasn't the 50:56 training. You know that's probably the hardest thing for 50:58 a lot of people is you know you got to get up every morning and 51:00 you got to train, you got to put in that...So was it 51:05 relationships, was it...? 51:09 It probably was not just the fact of not running because 51:14 I think inside I had peace about that decision. It was the fact 51:19 that I wasn't supported by some for that decision and nobody 51:24 wants to feel like people don't get it. So that was probably the 51:28 hardest part because, I mean, inside of me I understood why 51:33 I was doing it. But it's hard for me to know that they don't 51:36 get it and they think it's silly 51:39 I think that really is a preparation for the end of time. 51:43 You know when the Bible says we're going to be hated of all 51:45 nations for Christ's name sake, for God's name sake. And I think 51:48 that is part of what God is doing in developing your 51:51 character Lydia. He is helping you to recognize you know some 51:56 of the challenges that come you know because we made decisions 51:59 for God. And stepping you through that now in these 52:03 smaller trials that are preparing us for the big race 52:06 that we're in which is the salvation race. And I think that 52:09 you know, praise God you passed that first trial and that test 52:13 and your character's developed and growing and you have a great 52:17 witness here. So we're going to be right back. We're going to 52:20 be right back, so don't go away, with more of Lydia's story. |
Revised 2023-02-01