I Didn’t Want to Be the “Weakest Link”

My time at UTC was truly not what I expected, but in the best way. I decided to go to UTC all by myself, which, looking back, is not something I would ever normally do, but it was necessary for what God had in store for me there.

When competing in the SPECIAL, I actually ended up breaking my finger in the first event. Without thinking too much about it, or even knowing it was really broken, I decided to continue to compete in the remaining competitions. I immediately began to get frustrated with myself for not performing well in anything because I couldn’t use my left hand without experiencing a lot of pain.

I found myself defending myself in front of my teammates and giving reasons and excuses for why I wasn’t playing well so they wouldn’t think of me less or as the “weakest link”. And throughout this whole experience, I couldn’t fight the thought in my head of “why would God allow this to happen to me? I was obedient to Him in deciding to come to UTC, so why would He do this?”

It wasn’t until a few hours later, in the silence between activities, that I felt the Lord breaking through all the chaos going on around me. He was calling me to focus on Him, to keep my mind centered on Him, and to honor Him through my work ethic. Not performing for approval or acknowledgement from anyone else.

He allowed me to experience pain and suffering in that moment with my broken finger, to humble me, to begin breaking down the pride that my athletic success had given me, and he gave me a new purpose to compete. That purpose was to play for an Audience of One, honoring and glorifying Him in all that I did on the field and after.

Sarah Wegener | UTC Minnesota 2024