A decade ago, the Lord spoke to my heart: “Kristi, everything you did to become a world champion water-skier, you will have to do again to complete the work I’m giving you.” He had just called me into the uncharted territory of prison ministry.
At first, this new journey was exciting. Prison doors were flying open for Victorious Living magazine and for me to go behind bars to speak to the incarcerated.
I knew I’d found my calling, but soon, it got hard. The workload grew heavy and the finances were thin. I cried, “Lord, help! I can’t do this!”
Then I looked back on God’s initial statement and reminded myself that God had given me this work and though it was hard, I had done hard work before. I’d faced difficult obstacles in becoming a world champion, and now, with God, I could do it again. Only this time, there would be eternal rewards.
I’ve spent a lot of time reflecting on my athletic journey, but lately, I’ve felt an urgency to identify exactly what it was—on and off the water—that helped me become a champion. Finishing well matters to me.
It’s been fun reminiscing, and I’ve decided to share some of what I’ve recalled here and in upcoming issues. This theme will also show up in video teachings on my YouTube channel and on prison tablets under the Victorious Living channel.
People often ask, “Kristi, what does it take to be a champion in life?” In my experience, it’s the very things that helped me become a champion water-skier.
Of course, the pursuit of victory required sacrifice, focus, and discipline beyond the norm. Titles didn’t happen because I or anyone else wished them for me.
I experienced victory at the highest level only because of what I was willing to do in obscurity. Every day required a deliberate choice to push past discomfort and show up at a ski dock, whether I felt like it or not. Then I had to decide to get in the water and say, “Hit it!” to the boat driver.
That might sound easy, but it was not. And lately, I’ve been recalling all the obstacles that could have kept me from my pursuit.
Interestingly, they are the same things that can keep us from living a victorious life in Christ.
Let’s journey back and see who or what might be trying to get in our way of being a champion.
Obstacle 1: Pain. If you’ve been an athlete, you know the body hurts, especially in the morning. I can’t recall a day when I woke up and thought, “Man, I feel awesome! I can’t wait to get to the dock and ski!” Most mornings, I felt like a Mack truck had hit me.
I’d be in a hotel room abroad, hours away from my appointed competition time, wondering how in the world I was going to bend over to put my ski on, much less run the ski course. Neck and lumbar disc issues and a congenital hip disorder tried to hinder me early in my career. If I’d waited to feel good to ski, I would have never skied.
The point isn’t to receive sympathy or applause, nor is it to suggest that pain should be ignored and pushed through to the detriment of your well-being. (I learned that the hard way.) It’s only to show that daily pain tried to stop me. It still does.
And just like in skiing, if I wait to feel good enough to do what God has called me to do—whether it’s being a wife, mother, ministry leader, or publisher—I’d still be in bed. That doesn’t mean I ignore serious issues. Rather, it means I acknowledge the pain, tend to it if it is possible and needed, and then determine to keep moving to the best of my ability, often with the help of others.
In life, pain will always have a voice; the question is, will we let it have the final say?
Obstacle 2: Negative Voices. Not only did pain try to keep me from moving toward victory, but so did the voices—both internal and external. They all had one goal: to distract and instill fear and doubt.
An internal voice roared early in the morning and followed me all the way to the dock. It reminded me of all the reasons why I would never be a champion. Sometimes those negative thoughts stemmed from things someone said or didn’t say. But usually, they came from my own self-talk. I was my worst critic.
External voices came in various forms. Some came over the loudspeaker as announcers questioned my ability to bring home the gold. Some were from the crowd, like in Melbourne, Australia, when 100,000 spectators yelled “fall off!” in unison from the shoreline as I made my way into the bottom of the jump ramp. I was their entertainment, and they were hoping for a big crash.
Others came from my competitors, their coaches, and even their parents. One overbearing father made sure to tell me how great his daughter was skiing as I entered the water to compete. One year, he sent me a Christmas card with a picture of her in front of trophies, as if to remind me that she would be waiting for me. Really?
The reality is, naysayers will always exist. Not everyone wants us to have victory. Satan certainly doesn’t want us to fulfill God’s purposes (John 10:10).
Our task is to silence those negative voices and replace them with God’s voice of truth. Get in His Word (the Bible) and discover who He says we are and what we are capable of.
Obstacle 3: Circumstances. Once I pushed through the pain and negative voices, then came the obstacles of difficult, frightening, and often unfair circumstances—wind, rain, waves, debris, and broken equipment.
At the Junior World Championships in Quebec, Canada, in 1985, I had the unfair circumstance of pelting rain. The heavens opened, and the rain poured down just as I was putting on my ski. There was no lightning, so the tournament continued. I knew that if I refused to get off the dock, I would be refusing a possible victory. To this day, it is one of my favorite victories because it was one of the most difficult. There is something about facing the tough stuff and coming out victorious that sticks with you.
There were other obstacles, too, like critters. Alligators loved early morning and late evening water as much as I did. My husband, Tim, would run the boat to stir up the water and shoo those gators away.
Once I counted 14 water moccasins hanging around the dock just as my coach told me to get in. I got in because I didn’t want to miss an opportunity to learn from the best and grow my skills.
It’s interesting. In all those decades of skiing in those critter-filled waters, not one alligator or snake ever got hold of me…though I did hit a few ducks. Turns out, most of those critters were just as scared of me as I was of them. Truthfully, the things we think will “get us” usually can’t or won’t. I’m not suggesting being careless. I’m just making the point that to move out with God, we can’t be intimidated by what we see. God is bigger!
Friend, in life, there will be pain, negative and hurtful voices, and unfair and frightening circumstances, many of which will stare you in the face. But that’s okay. They can only keep you from victory if you let them.
God has already paid the price for you to have a victorious life through the death of His Son. He has given you His Holy Spirit. All you have to do is keep getting up, moving forward, and saying yes to Him.
No, it won’t be easy, but you will be victorious. God will be with you as you pass through those difficult and scary waters (Isaiah 43:2). And if He is with you and for you, nothing can stop you. (See Romans 8.)
Consider: What obstacle is preventing you from moving forward? Which voices are shaping your decisions—fear, insecurity, and outside criticism, or the steady voice of God? What steps of discipline can you take to prepare for pressure, testing, and greater responsibility?
KRISTI OVERTON JOHNSON encourages and equips people for victory through her writings, speaking engagements, and prison ministry. To learn more, go to kojministries.org.
