in the 1972 Olympics, has been considered one of the
greatest swimmers of all time. She didn't sit back and
watch things happen. She made them happen.
Early in her career, when she was only 14 years of age,
a news reporter asked her how she thought she would do in
one of her early swim meets in the U.S. She replied,
"I have a feeling there will be a world record today."
There was!
Shane set a world record in the one-hundred-meter freestyle
event and a second in the two-hundred. When asked how she
thought she would do in the more punishing four-hundred-meter
event she said, "I get stronger every race, and besides ...
my parents said they'd take me to Disneyland if I win,
and we're leaving tomorrow!"
She went to Disneyland with three world records! By the
time she was 16 she had five world records. It is true,
she also had talent but she won not only because of this,
but because of her preparation, hard work, and her
positive self- expectancy.
Only a very few are gifted sufficiently to be able to win
gold medals. However, every one of us is gifted in some
area and most of us are gifted in several areas. And while
we are not all called of God to be famous, we are all
called to be faithful in serving him and our fellow man
with the gifts that we have been given.
We, too, can be among those who make things happen if we
are well trained in our area of gifting and are adequately
prepared for the task we want and feel called to do. We also
need to have faith in our cause, take advantage of
opportunities when they arise, believe that with God's help
we can achieve what we set out to do, and are prepared to
work hard to make it happen.
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