Melanie Stuck - Softball

I was…

Before Christ I was someone who knew and believed about a higher God, but necessarily didn’t have a relationship with Jesus. I was the Christian who went to church on Sunday’s to get my weekly dose of Jesus, then throughout the week would follow my own desires. I was lost and broken, searching for my identity in relationships with boys, my performance in softball and extracurriculars, and for a time alcohol. I poured my heart and soul into relationships where I eventually was running on fumes. I was the controller of my life and didn’t allow Jesus to take the keys of my life until I finally realized that the source of life is through having a relationship with Christ.

But Christ

It wasn’t until my freshman year of college at IWU that I got to grow in my faith genuinely and find my identity in Christ. Christ completely transformed me by aligning my desires to his and showing me how beautiful life truly is through his perspective. Deciding that I want to live for Christ and use my life to honor Him has been one of the most freeing yet frustrating things. Being a Christian I get to experience and understand what Christ has done for all humanity, but that doesn’t stop the enemy from plummeting arrows at you to slow you down in your faith journey.

And now…

A couple words to describe my sophomore year of college are frustrating, mundane, exhausting…a couple things that I would like to share that God has taught me is that I can’t put pressure and be so hard on myself with experiences I have yet to experience. Learning is a lifelong process, and I have to open myself up to that. God wants us to grow in him and trials are a way to do that. I am still learning what it looks and feels like to cast my burdens off my shoulders; God wants to carry our burdens. Another thing that I have learned is that faith is not about how you feel, it’s about action. One day you may not feel like reading the Word, but you know that it will benefit you if you spend time in it. God has been really teaching me that even if you don’t feel like it, you’re tired and exhausted, you just got to keep moving forward.

Life Verse

“The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights.” Habakkuk 3:19

Challenge to Other Athletes/Coaches

What can we do to reflect or grow closer to God on and off the field?

Within our teams there are unique communities. In those communities we should reflect vulnerability, intimacy, unity, rawness, and authenticity. Just like in our relationship with Jesus, he wants us as we are in whatever season we are in. On our team we should be comfortable enough to approach teammates and coaches where we are at spiritually, mentally, emotionally, physically to stay connected. Being real with Jesus helps us grow in our relationship with him and transcends with who we encounter in our lives.