November 30, 2024 • 25 mins
Ever wondered how faith and sports intersect in the life of a professional athlete? Our latest episode features an inspiring conversation with Serah, a trailblazing rookie on the professional beach volleyball circuit. As she recounts her journey from college athlete to pro, Serah shares how her spiritual beliefs shape her approach to the game. With mentors like her father and coach guiding her path, she navigates the challenges and triumphs of her career, all while keeping her faith at the forefront. Serah opens up about using her platform to glorify God, drawing strength from verses like Romans 8:28 and Psalm 115:1, and finding resilience through her faith-driven perspective on the court.
In the second half of the episode, we dive into personal stories of faith and redemption. I share how life's trials during college deepened my Christian commitment, while my friend reveals their return to faith during a transformative mission trip to Costa Rica. Reflecting on the 'prodigal son' experience, we explore themes of growth, forgiveness, and unyielding divine love. We wrap up on a lighter note by discussing our shared love for volleyball and our hope to inspire the next generation to embrace sports for their holistic benefits. Whether you're a sports enthusiast or on your own faith journey, this episode promises encouragement and inspiration.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello, today I have Sarah and she's a professional
volleyball player and this isher story.
So what's it like playingprofessional volleyball?
Speaker 2 (00:12):
It's been really, really cool getting to play
professional beach volleyball,especially after college.
I think it's a really goodexperience because I get to
really just travel and see newplaces and meet new people,
partnerships and all that goodstuff.
It's been a blessing, like thiswhole past year, my rookie
(00:35):
season.
It started off pretty slow,honestly, and I like to think
that God really just he likes toshow up in ways that only he
can get the credit, and that'sexactly what happened.
I feel like all of my successesthis past season just had his
(00:59):
hand in it and it was reallyreally cool to see and I learned
a lot and I'm looking forwardto the next seasons.
Speaker 1 (01:06):
Awesome.
So what's that like being arookie, Like how's that?
Is there like any hazing or isthere anything?
Speaker 2 (01:12):
No, no, it's more so.
Just it's like going in withyou know that underdog or no
accolade, everything like that.
It's really just kind ofkicking the door in and seeing
how you do against those highlevel players.
Yeah, it's a lot.
It was definitely a learningprocess.
(01:34):
It's a different.
It's a different game thancollege, for sure.
Speaker 1 (01:38):
Nice, nice.
So how do you use your platformand as a professional
volleyball player, to give Godglory.
Speaker 2 (01:47):
So I mean, that is how I think that's just how it
should be done as a, as any proathlete, because at the end of
the day, it was.
It was a learning process forme and it still is, and it still
is.
But at the end of the day, wereally don't deserve any glory,
(02:07):
you know, as a, as a sentence ofAdam, we're just in our fallen
nature.
But once I understood that thiswas just a gift, that being an
(02:27):
athlete and everything thatcomes with it is something that
God allowed me to do and I'm sograteful for it really went
uphill because he's the only onethat actually does deserve the
glory.
So, without it being forpursuit of my own greatness, but
to show the world how good heis, it's been awesome because
even if you fail by humanstandpoints, like you're not
(02:49):
failing anymore because you'redoing it for right reasons and
it's just, it's super rewardingto get to do that.
So it like it sounds like evenif you mess up, like say, you
still feel like you're givingglory to God, you can't mess up
his plan of your eye and ifyou're doing it with right
intentions, he knows what's bestfor you and he does know what
(03:13):
needs to happen, and I thinkthat when he promises to give
you the desires of your heartand your heart is in line with
his will that will happen.
You know, it is a lot ofreflection and little steps for
(03:35):
glorifying him and making surethat it's not selfish motive.
Speaker 1 (03:39):
Yeah, I think, like in Matthew 6, 33, seek first the
kingdom of God and all hisrighteousness.
Exactly.
And all these things will beadded unto you.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
If you seek the kingdom, it just it makes your
way of living so much easier.
Anyway, those losses don't feellike much because you know that
he's in control.
You know Paul says to run thegood race and and that's all
we're doing as athletes.
You know you show up, uh, youwork hard, and that's all we're
doing as athletes.
You know you show up, you workhard.
I heard a football player on aninterview the other day say
(04:10):
that you know the soldiersprepare for battle, but you know
the battle's already won andGod is in control.
And that's true.
That's all we do is we prepareand we continue to work hard
with a sense of gratefulness,and we just keep going.
We seek the kingdom.
Speaker 1 (04:27):
Right, exactly Now.
Do you have a mentor that youlook up to, or somebody that's
like important in your life, orsomething like that?
Speaker 2 (04:39):
Spiritually, it's definitely my father, okay.
Spiritually, it's definitely myfather, okay.
I'm so, so, so, so blessed tohave such a well-read and
faith-filled father figure.
In the faith and hisrelationship with Christ is one
(05:05):
that I can only dream of havingone day.
So spiritually, yeah, onlydream of having one day.
Uh, so spiritually, yeah.
And then for volleyball, it'sfor sure, my coach, who, I'm
also blessed, is a, is a friendof Jesus and so he's able to
guide me in this sport very,very well and he's seen it all
and and I trust him and he'she's like another father figure.
I always compare it as, like mydad is the more of the soft
(05:27):
spoken one, and then my coach isdefinitely more of the yelling,
like you know, being tough onme, kind of love.
Speaker 1 (05:36):
Gotcha, and I think you said you had a hard time.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
I don't know if you mentioned one, but, like, what's
a verse you use in your sportto encourage somebody?
Like, is there a specific verse?
I love it because you have toremember that it is very
intentional, that it says allthings.
It doesn't say good things, itdoesn't say bad things, it
doesn't say something.
It says all things worktogether for good to bring glory
(06:13):
to God.
And when you're going throughthose hard times, that's what I
try and remember is all things.
And a verse that is just nearand dear to me is psalm 115 1.
And that is not to us, lord,not to us, but to your name, be
the glory because of your loveand faithfulness.
And so, uh, me and my bestfriend's podcast, the forest
(06:39):
glory podcast for christianathletes is really is based off
of that and it's really cool.
Kind of tying in with withRoman day 28 is.
So when I was 19, I went to myfreshman year of college, I got
a piece of that verse, psalm 115, as a tattoo.
(07:01):
You know, because I was 19 andI was just excited with all the
freedom I had, I guess, but Ijust had a tattoo called For His
Glory and I had no idea thatthat phrase was going to mean so
much to me.
It meant a lot to me when I gotit, but it has become my way of
living and it's so cool that itwas almost like God was
(07:24):
foreshadowing that, because whenI got, that tattoo is super
spontaneous and I had a lot ofother different ideas of what I
wanted and that's what it endedup being and now I have a whole
you know podcast surrounded byit and it's really cool.
Speaker 1 (07:43):
It's funny because when you say romans 828, that's
my favorite, one of my favoriteverses.
It's and and I'm I'm kind ofweird with like numbers and
stuff so like I'll see 828, likeat the, the time is 828.
I don't like remind me of it,and it's usually I like the
(08:04):
perfect time, because I'll belike thinking something'll like
remind me of it, and it'susually at like the perfect time
, because I'll be like thinkingsomething and then I'll see it,
and then I'll be like yo, likethis is God speaking to me?
because it's funny that when youlook for him he's just so
obviously everywhere yeah, yeah,it's like, it's just funny
because, like, my favorite verseis probably ephesians 2, verse
8 through 9, what is, by graceyou've been saved through faith
(08:26):
is not yourselves.
As a gift of god, knocked thywork so that no man shall boast.
But that verse 10 talking about, like, how we are his
masterpiece, freedom for greatworks in christ jesus, like that
, honestly, that has become partof the verse and I've loved,
and I love both, all that, thatwhole little section.
So like because the, because Ifeel like that verse speaks to
(08:50):
me as far as, like you know,like god's jesus saves us, and
then also like we're created todo great things for god, for
sure, for sure we're his chosen,yeah, so, um, so who I?
You might have said thisalready who do you look up to
the most in the sports world andwhy?
(09:12):
I think you kind of said it.
Speaker 2 (09:13):
Yeah, in the sports world, your coach, it's really
my coach.
It's been this whole past year.
So if I train four days a weekand there's 365 days in a year,
you know he's gotten themajority of my past year and it
(09:33):
has been an extremely like,rewarding experience to just get
to constantly, you know, wakeup four days a week with this
purpose of training in thissport and with his guidance,
it's been really, really coolnice.
Speaker 1 (09:51):
Um.
So as a christian, I meanthere's a lot of christian
athletes in sports.
Like what does it mean to youto be like a christian athlete?
Like what that?
Speaker 2 (10:06):
It's just a gift.
I like the Christian life isreally just.
It's a series of circumstancesthat God leads you to and and he
is, you know, gracious enoughto to have granted us free will
and it's been.
It's just so cool that in thislifetime before eternity, that
(10:31):
this is what I get to do.
You know, like I always knewthat I wanted to to go big, like
as a kid I got super hyper,fixated on a lot of things and
actually volleyball was thefirst sport I ever hated.
The first time I triedvolleyball I did not like it, I
(10:52):
was not very good at it and Iplayed every other sport to come
back full circle.
And it's really cool becauseit's not, like I said before,
for my own personal glory, likeI said before, for my own
(11:15):
personal glory, but what I'velearned in the small wins in my
career, it's just so full oflove and God's grace and it's
been.
I don't even have like wordsfor it.
It's just so.
I'm so, so grateful that thisis the life that God has allowed
me to live.
And you know, at the end of theday the ball will have to be
put down eventually and I don'tknow if that's going to be in my
(11:40):
lifetime per se, for my choiceor because the kingdom comes,
but it doesn't define me, andthat's.
Another cool thing is that thisis just one adventure that God
has led me to and allowed me towork with for now.
Speaker 1 (11:57):
Now, do you have any aspirations or goals of going to
the Olympics?
Speaker 2 (12:02):
I do.
Speaker 1 (12:03):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (12:04):
So, and that's been my I don't know how else to
explain it and I do believe thatGod put it on my heart.
But I always wanted to set thebar high so that, even if I
don't reach certain goals, I atleast gave it everything I had.
You know, I tell the girls andboys that I coach all the time
(12:27):
everything I had.
You know I tell the girls andboys that I coach all the time.
I said don't limit yourselfjust because you think, you
think that it might be meant forsomeone else.
You know, just if you set thebar high, then you're always
going to to have room forimprovement.
And so I do want to play in LosAngeles in 2028, and that's the
(12:48):
, that's the goal and I have todo a follow-up interview for
that one.
I would love to.
I would play, too, the teamthat I have supporting me right
now and, uh, like all of the,the little steps that I'm
learning it, you know we lead upto it.
I'm'm really, really excitedfor this pursuit and yeah.
Speaker 1 (13:11):
I don't know if this could be an encouragement to you
or not, but I actuallyinterviewed an Olympic athlete
and he was a swimmer for Lebanonand he was the only athlete for
Lebanon because it's a reallysmall country, the only athlete
for Lebanon because it's areally small country.
So, like he, I interviewed himand it's like you want to, you
(13:32):
obviously want to pursue thistoo.
So it's like I just like, as alike, because I just to let you
know that I've known somebodythat has done that and it's it's
definitely possible.
So I don't know thatencouragement.
Speaker 2 (13:44):
I mean the possibility, wait, oh, I mean
the possibility isn't uh, isn'treally what is like a concerning
thing to me?
Because I I do believe that youcan put your mind to anything
and if you do what you sayyou're gonna do, I, my prayer to
(14:05):
God is always that if, if I doneed to put the ball down, that
I'm not stubborn about it, thathe basically just lets me know
and I'll say, okay, you know,that's it, where do you want me
next?
But in terms of this sport isdifficult as it has gotten,
because I had some I definitelyhad some downs with it in
(14:28):
college.
He unfailingly let me keepplaying, because I've already
I've said I've had that prayermultiple times where just stole
crushing moments throughout thecareer.
I was like God.
You know if, if you want thisdoor closed, like like, please
just close it, just let me know.
You know I would like to God.
You know if, if you want thisdoor closed, like, like, please
(14:48):
just close it, just let me know.
You know I would like to know,because I don't want to ever
have to be, you know, gettinginjured to understand that it's
not for me.
You know I want to do it withfull submission to him.
Right, but he's done nothing.
Every time that I got to thatlow point it's like he swung
(15:08):
open another door.
So it's really just made mekind of realize that, at least
for now, he wants me in thissport so that's cool that you're
.
Speaker 1 (15:19):
You're kind of like up it's, like it's up to god,
you know, like it, yeah, itshould be it, I know, and some
people hold things on tosomething so hard, you know
because as humans, we don't likethings we can't control, but we
also don't see the perspectivefrom the kingdom.
Speaker 2 (15:35):
You know, there are, you know, many stories where, if
God told you what was going tohappen and what it was going to
take, yeah, it's scary.
It is scary, but he knows whatwe need, you know.
You know who karen dobbs isright.
Yeah, her story is incredible,but even she admitted at an fca
(15:58):
uh, was it the guide ofchampions?
no, we just.
She came to fiu a lot andbecause she was in the miami
area and he got to here, she's ahurricane.
Yeah, it's a really cool story.
If anyone listening to thishasn't heard of her Cameron
(16:19):
Dobbs, you can look her up andher testimony is awesome.
But even that night sheadmitted she said if I knew that
it was going to take what itwent through to get to where I
was today, it would have beenmuch easier to say God, can you
please choose someone else to dothis?
But he doesn't give us morethan we can handle, and that's a
promise.
Speaker 1 (16:39):
So and so how long have you been a Christian for?
Speaker 2 (16:52):
long have you been a Christian for?
So I was raised in the faith,um, I, I gave my life to Christ
at I was eight when I did, andthen I was baptized when I was
nine and it was very much like Iwas very much, um, you know,
self-aware enough to make thedecision on my own.
It's a very sweet memory for mydad because the altar call
happened and I told him, I saidI want to do it and I want to do
(17:13):
it alone, and so that wasreally cool.
But I want to say that my storyin the faith didn't start being
built until about sophomoreyear of college.
And I say that because early onin my life, uh, middle school,
(17:34):
high school, I wasn't reallygetting tested much.
Uh, I knew who god was, I knewwho jesus was I believe that
what he did was but I hadn'tbeen put up against any real,
you know, tough decisions,trials, yeah, trials, all that
stuff.
You know just like, oh, it'seasy to walk in a straight line.
(17:56):
You know I'm surrounded byChristian people.
And then those first two yearsof college was really a series
of trying not good things in theworld, looking for satisfaction
, coming back to Christ, becausethere was no satisfaction to be
(18:17):
found anywhere but through himit was such a testament of his
grace for me because once I hitthat wall it was, you know, open
arms, and I'm not saying like,in that exact moment I was like
good again, you know, walkingthe straight line.
(18:38):
It had been two years of, youknow, rowdy behavior.
It took some time, but now Ihad that connection with him and
that sense of conviction.
And there are things, even tothis day, where I have on my
heart that I would like to getbetter at.
And it weighs on you, once youhave that relationship with him,
(19:00):
because conviction is there.
But I'm just happy knowing thatthe conviction is there, you
know, because for those twoyears of bad decisions I wasn't
even consulting him with any ofthe decision.
I was just like you know, Iknow what I'm doing, I know what
I want, I'm going to go forthis.
I can try and control.
This been such a relief becauseit's like I can trust him, I
(19:32):
can ask him for guidance andconviction and and we just keep
getting better, uh, as I keepgetting better as a person, as a
Christian, because of it,because now I have that
relationship with him, to go tohim with these decisions.
Speaker 1 (19:42):
I had a similar um, like, so like I was pretty much
like here.
You were saying like I was veryI was fine up until like high
school, and like high school,like a like a cousin died of a
drug overdose, uh, multipledeaths in the family, just like
different, just so manydifferent things just hit me and
(20:03):
it kind of like took me awayfrom God and so like in college
I hung out with the wrong crowd,I didn't do anything crazy but
like definitely wasn't livingfor God and I took a missions
trip to Costa Rica to bring mylife back to Christ and that's
(20:25):
kind of my story is like I wentthrough, like I go through this
prodigal son story and then likeit's just so you beneficial and
really is it?
Speaker 2 (20:35):
really I'm not saying to anyone listening that you
should go and try and, you know,be dumb, but I'm just saying,
like it, the prodigal son, youknow story is, it is us, it,
yeah, like whether, whether youget saved later or early in life
, like we were created, we wereknit together in our mother's
(20:57):
womb by him and, uh, you know,it's whenever we're ready to
come back and lay our cars onthe table and just say I'm sorry
, I don't know what I wasthinking, and he will
unfailingly take you in everysingle time.
Right you know, and you, youstart to be better because of
(21:19):
that sense of gratefulness.
You know, not because webelieve that works is going to
get us our ticket into heaven,but because it's like someone
loved me so much to forgive meto.
You know, pay the price on thecross, and because of that I
wanted to continue to live forhim yeah, and also my friend.
Speaker 1 (21:40):
You met Mark the other day.
He said um, doesn't matter howfar you're got, you think you've
gone.
God is always one step behindyou.
Yep, and it's like you know,like you could go, like you went
off.
You did your own thing incollege.
You did, but as, no matter howfar he went, I was going to come
back.
Speaker 2 (21:59):
Yeah, he led it to all the scenarios, uh, and I do
think that I said, if I didn'thave that experience in college,
I don't think I would be nearlyas equipped to speak on the
gospel today, because I amspeaking from a story of grace,
you know.
Speaker 1 (22:17):
Right, right.
So I guess you said, you likedother sports.
Yeah, so like what other sports?
Yeah, so like what other sportsdid you like besides volleyball
?
Speaker 2 (22:32):
I played everything growing up.
I just I liked to tryeverything I was always signed
up for like after schoolintramural sports while my
parents were out.
I liked basketball.
I was pretty solid at it.
You know, that was like thethird grade.
Football was actually the firstsport that I learned.
(22:52):
Oh, flat football, I neverplayed.
Oh well, I did play slack I wasyoung, but it was more of like.
My dad taught me how to throwand catch very early.
Speaker 1 (23:01):
Maybe you could play flat football for the Olympics.
Speaker 2 (23:05):
I'm not going to pursue any other sport in the
Olympics Volleyball but I justlike knowing I want my kids in
the future to also get toexperience all the sports
because I think that it's goodand it gives you perspective on
other sports.
You know the biomechanics andeverything and it's just good
(23:25):
for you socially, culturally andall of that stuff.
Speaker 1 (23:32):
Okay, yeah.
Well, what you all you said islike a lot of really good stuff
was like is there anything elselike you might want to add, like
anything that you might want tosay to people, like as a
professional volleyball playeror as a Christian, like to
encourage somebody, or I justthink that to anyone listening,
(23:55):
listening that is, uh, hasdoubts.
Speaker 2 (23:59):
To anyone listening that has doubts over pursuing a
dream, I really, if theirintentions are right, there's
really nothing that God isn'tcapable of doing in your life.
You know, and if I do make itto the Los Angeles games,
(24:21):
because that's where God wantsme, it's just going to be a
testament of you know,philippians 4, 6 and it.
If I ever reach the podium, youknow, if I get to say you know,
I can do all things throughChrist, who gives me strength,
that's gonna be exactly whatthat means, because I would have
(24:41):
had no business from my height,from my past accolades, it
wouldn't make sense.
It would only be Christ thatgot me there and the efforts
that he allowed me to continueto pursue, because it will be
nothing short of a miracle fromthe human standpoint.
Speaker 1 (25:03):
To make the Olympics.
Speaker 2 (25:05):
To medal.
Speaker 1 (25:06):
To medal.
Speaker 2 (25:07):
To medal, yeah, and I'm not saying that I think it
to to metal, to metal, to metal,yeah, Because and I'm not
saying that I, I, I think it's,you know, horribly impossible.
But I will say that it's goingto be a heck of a story that God
has built brick by brick, anduh, and that is the goal and
that is what I'll continue topursue in his name.
(25:29):
So awesome.
Speaker 1 (25:31):
Well, thank you so much, of course, joining.
Thank you for having me.
This is sarah o'keefe, o'keefe,o'keefe, okay, o'keefe, and uh,
this was her pot, the podcastabout her life, and uh, thanks
for joining us.
We'll see you next time bye.
Hello, today I have Sarah and she's a professional
volleyball player and this isher story.
So what's it like playingprofessional volleyball?
Speaker 2 (00:12):
It's been really, really cool getting to play
professional beach volleyball,especially after college.
I think it's a really goodexperience because I get to
really just travel and see newplaces and meet new people,
partnerships and all that goodstuff.
It's been a blessing, like thiswhole past year, my rookie
(00:35):
season.
It started off pretty slow,honestly, and I like to think
that God really just he likes toshow up in ways that only he
can get the credit, and that'sexactly what happened.
I feel like all of my successesthis past season just had his
(00:59):
hand in it and it was reallyreally cool to see and I learned
a lot and I'm looking forwardto the next seasons.
Speaker 1 (01:06):
Awesome.
So what's that like being arookie, Like how's that?
Is there like any hazing or isthere anything?
Speaker 2 (01:12):
No, no, it's more so.
Just it's like going in withyou know that underdog or no
accolade, everything like that.
It's really just kind ofkicking the door in and seeing
how you do against those highlevel players.
Yeah, it's a lot.
It was definitely a learningprocess.
(01:34):
It's a different.
It's a different game thancollege, for sure.
Speaker 1 (01:38):
Nice, nice.
So how do you use your platformand as a professional
volleyball player, to give Godglory.
Speaker 2 (01:47):
So I mean, that is how I think that's just how it
should be done as a, as any proathlete, because at the end of
the day, it was.
It was a learning process forme and it still is, and it still
is.
But at the end of the day, wereally don't deserve any glory,
(02:07):
you know, as a, as a sentence ofAdam, we're just in our fallen
nature.
But once I understood that thiswas just a gift, that being an
(02:27):
athlete and everything thatcomes with it is something that
God allowed me to do and I'm sograteful for it really went
uphill because he's the only onethat actually does deserve the
glory.
So, without it being forpursuit of my own greatness, but
to show the world how good heis, it's been awesome because
even if you fail by humanstandpoints, like you're not
(02:49):
failing anymore because you'redoing it for right reasons and
it's just, it's super rewardingto get to do that.
So it like it sounds like evenif you mess up, like say, you
still feel like you're givingglory to God, you can't mess up
his plan of your eye and ifyou're doing it with right
intentions, he knows what's bestfor you and he does know what
(03:13):
needs to happen, and I thinkthat when he promises to give
you the desires of your heartand your heart is in line with
his will that will happen.
You know, it is a lot ofreflection and little steps for
(03:35):
glorifying him and making surethat it's not selfish motive.
Speaker 1 (03:39):
Yeah, I think, like in Matthew 6, 33, seek first the
kingdom of God and all hisrighteousness.
Exactly.
And all these things will beadded unto you.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
If you seek the kingdom, it just it makes your
way of living so much easier.
Anyway, those losses don't feellike much because you know that
he's in control.
You know Paul says to run thegood race and and that's all
we're doing as athletes.
You know you show up, uh, youwork hard, and that's all we're
doing as athletes.
You know you show up, you workhard.
I heard a football player on aninterview the other day say
(04:10):
that you know the soldiersprepare for battle, but you know
the battle's already won andGod is in control.
And that's true.
That's all we do is we prepareand we continue to work hard
with a sense of gratefulness,and we just keep going.
We seek the kingdom.
Speaker 1 (04:27):
Right, exactly Now.
Do you have a mentor that youlook up to, or somebody that's
like important in your life, orsomething like that?
Speaker 2 (04:39):
Spiritually, it's definitely my father, okay.
Spiritually, it's definitely myfather, okay.
I'm so, so, so, so blessed tohave such a well-read and
faith-filled father figure.
In the faith and hisrelationship with Christ is one
(05:05):
that I can only dream of havingone day.
So spiritually, yeah, onlydream of having one day.
Uh, so spiritually, yeah.
And then for volleyball, it'sfor sure, my coach, who, I'm
also blessed, is a, is a friendof Jesus and so he's able to
guide me in this sport very,very well and he's seen it all
and and I trust him and he'she's like another father figure.
I always compare it as, like mydad is the more of the soft
(05:27):
spoken one, and then my coach isdefinitely more of the yelling,
like you know, being tough onme, kind of love.
Speaker 1 (05:36):
Gotcha, and I think you said you had a hard time.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
I don't know if you mentioned one, but, like, what's
a verse you use in your sportto encourage somebody?
Like, is there a specific verse?
I love it because you have toremember that it is very
intentional, that it says allthings.
It doesn't say good things, itdoesn't say bad things, it
doesn't say something.
It says all things worktogether for good to bring glory
(06:13):
to God.
And when you're going throughthose hard times, that's what I
try and remember is all things.
And a verse that is just nearand dear to me is psalm 115 1.
And that is not to us, lord,not to us, but to your name, be
the glory because of your loveand faithfulness.
And so, uh, me and my bestfriend's podcast, the forest
(06:39):
glory podcast for christianathletes is really is based off
of that and it's really cool.
Kind of tying in with withRoman day 28 is.
So when I was 19, I went to myfreshman year of college, I got
a piece of that verse, psalm 115, as a tattoo.
(07:01):
You know, because I was 19 andI was just excited with all the
freedom I had, I guess, but Ijust had a tattoo called For His
Glory and I had no idea thatthat phrase was going to mean so
much to me.
It meant a lot to me when I gotit, but it has become my way of
living and it's so cool that itwas almost like God was
(07:24):
foreshadowing that, because whenI got, that tattoo is super
spontaneous and I had a lot ofother different ideas of what I
wanted and that's what it endedup being and now I have a whole
you know podcast surrounded byit and it's really cool.
Speaker 1 (07:43):
It's funny because when you say romans 828, that's
my favorite, one of my favoriteverses.
It's and and I'm I'm kind ofweird with like numbers and
stuff so like I'll see 828, likeat the, the time is 828.
I don't like remind me of it,and it's usually I like the
(08:04):
perfect time, because I'll belike thinking something'll like
remind me of it, and it'susually at like the perfect time
, because I'll be like thinkingsomething and then I'll see it,
and then I'll be like yo, likethis is God speaking to me?
because it's funny that when youlook for him he's just so
obviously everywhere yeah, yeah,it's like, it's just funny
because, like, my favorite verseis probably ephesians 2, verse
8 through 9, what is, by graceyou've been saved through faith
(08:26):
is not yourselves.
As a gift of god, knocked thywork so that no man shall boast.
But that verse 10 talking about, like, how we are his
masterpiece, freedom for greatworks in christ jesus, like that
, honestly, that has become partof the verse and I've loved,
and I love both, all that, thatwhole little section.
So like because the, because Ifeel like that verse speaks to
(08:50):
me as far as, like you know,like god's jesus saves us, and
then also like we're created todo great things for god, for
sure, for sure we're his chosen,yeah, so, um, so who I?
You might have said thisalready who do you look up to
the most in the sports world andwhy?
(09:12):
I think you kind of said it.
Speaker 2 (09:13):
Yeah, in the sports world, your coach, it's really
my coach.
It's been this whole past year.
So if I train four days a weekand there's 365 days in a year,
you know he's gotten themajority of my past year and it
(09:33):
has been an extremely like,rewarding experience to just get
to constantly, you know, wakeup four days a week with this
purpose of training in thissport and with his guidance,
it's been really, really coolnice.
Speaker 1 (09:51):
Um.
So as a christian, I meanthere's a lot of christian
athletes in sports.
Like what does it mean to youto be like a christian athlete?
Like what that?
Speaker 2 (10:06):
It's just a gift.
I like the Christian life isreally just.
It's a series of circumstancesthat God leads you to and and he
is, you know, gracious enoughto to have granted us free will
and it's been.
It's just so cool that in thislifetime before eternity, that
(10:31):
this is what I get to do.
You know, like I always knewthat I wanted to to go big, like
as a kid I got super hyper,fixated on a lot of things and
actually volleyball was thefirst sport I ever hated.
The first time I triedvolleyball I did not like it, I
(10:52):
was not very good at it and Iplayed every other sport to come
back full circle.
And it's really cool becauseit's not, like I said before,
for my own personal glory, likeI said before, for my own
(11:15):
personal glory, but what I'velearned in the small wins in my
career, it's just so full oflove and God's grace and it's
been.
I don't even have like wordsfor it.
It's just so.
I'm so, so grateful that thisis the life that God has allowed
me to live.
And you know, at the end of theday the ball will have to be
put down eventually and I don'tknow if that's going to be in my
(11:40):
lifetime per se, for my choiceor because the kingdom comes,
but it doesn't define me, andthat's.
Another cool thing is that thisis just one adventure that God
has led me to and allowed me towork with for now.
Speaker 1 (11:57):
Now, do you have any aspirations or goals of going to
the Olympics?
Speaker 2 (12:02):
I do.
Speaker 1 (12:03):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (12:04):
So, and that's been my I don't know how else to
explain it and I do believe thatGod put it on my heart.
But I always wanted to set thebar high so that, even if I
don't reach certain goals, I atleast gave it everything I had.
You know, I tell the girls andboys that I coach all the time
(12:27):
everything I had.
You know I tell the girls andboys that I coach all the time.
I said don't limit yourselfjust because you think, you
think that it might be meant forsomeone else.
You know, just if you set thebar high, then you're always
going to to have room forimprovement.
And so I do want to play in LosAngeles in 2028, and that's the
(12:48):
, that's the goal and I have todo a follow-up interview for
that one.
I would love to.
I would play, too, the teamthat I have supporting me right
now and, uh, like all of the,the little steps that I'm
learning it, you know we lead upto it.
I'm'm really, really excitedfor this pursuit and yeah.
Speaker 1 (13:11):
I don't know if this could be an encouragement to you
or not, but I actuallyinterviewed an Olympic athlete
and he was a swimmer for Lebanonand he was the only athlete for
Lebanon because it's a reallysmall country, the only athlete
for Lebanon because it's areally small country.
So, like he, I interviewed himand it's like you want to, you
(13:32):
obviously want to pursue thistoo.
So it's like I just like, as alike, because I just to let you
know that I've known somebodythat has done that and it's it's
definitely possible.
So I don't know thatencouragement.
Speaker 2 (13:44):
I mean the possibility, wait, oh, I mean
the possibility isn't uh, isn'treally what is like a concerning
thing to me?
Because I I do believe that youcan put your mind to anything
and if you do what you sayyou're gonna do, I, my prayer to
(14:05):
God is always that if, if I doneed to put the ball down, that
I'm not stubborn about it, thathe basically just lets me know
and I'll say, okay, you know,that's it, where do you want me
next?
But in terms of this sport isdifficult as it has gotten,
because I had some I definitelyhad some downs with it in
(14:28):
college.
He unfailingly let me keepplaying, because I've already
I've said I've had that prayermultiple times where just stole
crushing moments throughout thecareer.
I was like God.
You know if, if you want thisdoor closed, like like, please
just close it, just let me know.
You know I would like to God.
You know if, if you want thisdoor closed, like, like, please
(14:48):
just close it, just let me know.
You know I would like to know,because I don't want to ever
have to be, you know, gettinginjured to understand that it's
not for me.
You know I want to do it withfull submission to him.
Right, but he's done nothing.
Every time that I got to thatlow point it's like he swung
(15:08):
open another door.
So it's really just made mekind of realize that, at least
for now, he wants me in thissport so that's cool that you're
.
Speaker 1 (15:19):
You're kind of like up it's, like it's up to god,
you know, like it, yeah, itshould be it, I know, and some
people hold things on tosomething so hard, you know
because as humans, we don't likethings we can't control, but we
also don't see the perspectivefrom the kingdom.
Speaker 2 (15:35):
You know, there are, you know, many stories where, if
God told you what was going tohappen and what it was going to
take, yeah, it's scary.
It is scary, but he knows whatwe need, you know.
You know who karen dobbs isright.
Yeah, her story is incredible,but even she admitted at an fca
(15:58):
uh, was it the guide ofchampions?
no, we just.
She came to fiu a lot andbecause she was in the miami
area and he got to here, she's ahurricane.
Yeah, it's a really cool story.
If anyone listening to thishasn't heard of her Cameron
(16:19):
Dobbs, you can look her up andher testimony is awesome.
But even that night sheadmitted she said if I knew that
it was going to take what itwent through to get to where I
was today, it would have beenmuch easier to say God, can you
please choose someone else to dothis?
But he doesn't give us morethan we can handle, and that's a
promise.
Speaker 1 (16:39):
So and so how long have you been a Christian for?
Speaker 2 (16:52):
long have you been a Christian for?
So I was raised in the faith,um, I, I gave my life to Christ
at I was eight when I did, andthen I was baptized when I was
nine and it was very much like Iwas very much, um, you know,
self-aware enough to make thedecision on my own.
It's a very sweet memory for mydad because the altar call
happened and I told him, I saidI want to do it and I want to do
(17:13):
it alone, and so that wasreally cool.
But I want to say that my storyin the faith didn't start being
built until about sophomoreyear of college.
And I say that because early onin my life, uh, middle school,
(17:34):
high school, I wasn't reallygetting tested much.
Uh, I knew who god was, I knewwho jesus was I believe that
what he did was but I hadn'tbeen put up against any real,
you know, tough decisions,trials, yeah, trials, all that
stuff.
You know just like, oh, it'seasy to walk in a straight line.
(17:56):
You know I'm surrounded byChristian people.
And then those first two yearsof college was really a series
of trying not good things in theworld, looking for satisfaction
, coming back to Christ, becausethere was no satisfaction to be
(18:17):
found anywhere but through himit was such a testament of his
grace for me because once I hitthat wall it was, you know, open
arms, and I'm not saying like,in that exact moment I was like
good again, you know, walkingthe straight line.
(18:38):
It had been two years of, youknow, rowdy behavior.
It took some time, but now Ihad that connection with him and
that sense of conviction.
And there are things, even tothis day, where I have on my
heart that I would like to getbetter at.
And it weighs on you, once youhave that relationship with him,
(19:00):
because conviction is there.
But I'm just happy knowing thatthe conviction is there, you
know, because for those twoyears of bad decisions I wasn't
even consulting him with any ofthe decision.
I was just like you know, Iknow what I'm doing, I know what
I want, I'm going to go forthis.
I can try and control.
This been such a relief becauseit's like I can trust him, I
(19:32):
can ask him for guidance andconviction and and we just keep
getting better, uh, as I keepgetting better as a person, as a
Christian, because of it,because now I have that
relationship with him, to go tohim with these decisions.
Speaker 1 (19:42):
I had a similar um, like, so like I was pretty much
like here.
You were saying like I was veryI was fine up until like high
school, and like high school,like a like a cousin died of a
drug overdose, uh, multipledeaths in the family, just like
different, just so manydifferent things just hit me and
(20:03):
it kind of like took me awayfrom God and so like in college
I hung out with the wrong crowd,I didn't do anything crazy but
like definitely wasn't livingfor God and I took a missions
trip to Costa Rica to bring mylife back to Christ and that's
(20:25):
kind of my story is like I wentthrough, like I go through this
prodigal son story and then likeit's just so you beneficial and
really is it?
Speaker 2 (20:35):
really I'm not saying to anyone listening that you
should go and try and, you know,be dumb, but I'm just saying,
like it, the prodigal son, youknow story is, it is us, it,
yeah, like whether, whether youget saved later or early in life
, like we were created, we wereknit together in our mother's
(20:57):
womb by him and, uh, you know,it's whenever we're ready to
come back and lay our cars onthe table and just say I'm sorry
, I don't know what I wasthinking, and he will
unfailingly take you in everysingle time.
Right you know, and you, youstart to be better because of
(21:19):
that sense of gratefulness.
You know, not because webelieve that works is going to
get us our ticket into heaven,but because it's like someone
loved me so much to forgive meto.
You know, pay the price on thecross, and because of that I
wanted to continue to live forhim yeah, and also my friend.
Speaker 1 (21:40):
You met Mark the other day.
He said um, doesn't matter howfar you're got, you think you've
gone.
God is always one step behindyou.
Yep, and it's like you know,like you could go, like you went
off.
You did your own thing incollege.
You did, but as, no matter howfar he went, I was going to come
back.
Speaker 2 (21:59):
Yeah, he led it to all the scenarios, uh, and I do
think that I said, if I didn'thave that experience in college,
I don't think I would be nearlyas equipped to speak on the
gospel today, because I amspeaking from a story of grace,
you know.
Speaker 1 (22:17):
Right, right.
So I guess you said, you likedother sports.
Yeah, so like what other sports?
Yeah, so like what other sportsdid you like besides volleyball
?
Speaker 2 (22:32):
I played everything growing up.
I just I liked to tryeverything I was always signed
up for like after schoolintramural sports while my
parents were out.
I liked basketball.
I was pretty solid at it.
You know, that was like thethird grade.
Football was actually the firstsport that I learned.
(22:52):
Oh, flat football, I neverplayed.
Oh well, I did play slack I wasyoung, but it was more of like.
My dad taught me how to throwand catch very early.
Speaker 1 (23:01):
Maybe you could play flat football for the Olympics.
Speaker 2 (23:05):
I'm not going to pursue any other sport in the
Olympics Volleyball but I justlike knowing I want my kids in
the future to also get toexperience all the sports
because I think that it's goodand it gives you perspective on
other sports.
You know the biomechanics andeverything and it's just good
(23:25):
for you socially, culturally andall of that stuff.
Speaker 1 (23:32):
Okay, yeah.
Well, what you all you said islike a lot of really good stuff
was like is there anything elselike you might want to add, like
anything that you might want tosay to people, like as a
professional volleyball playeror as a Christian, like to
encourage somebody, or I justthink that to anyone listening,
(23:55):
listening that is, uh, hasdoubts.
Speaker 2 (23:59):
To anyone listening that has doubts over pursuing a
dream, I really, if theirintentions are right, there's
really nothing that God isn'tcapable of doing in your life.
You know, and if I do make itto the Los Angeles games,
(24:21):
because that's where God wantsme, it's just going to be a
testament of you know,philippians 4, 6 and it.
If I ever reach the podium, youknow, if I get to say you know,
I can do all things throughChrist, who gives me strength,
that's gonna be exactly whatthat means, because I would have
(24:41):
had no business from my height,from my past accolades, it
wouldn't make sense.
It would only be Christ thatgot me there and the efforts
that he allowed me to continueto pursue, because it will be
nothing short of a miracle fromthe human standpoint.
Speaker 1 (25:03):
To make the Olympics.
Speaker 2 (25:05):
To medal.
Speaker 1 (25:06):
To medal.
Speaker 2 (25:07):
To medal, yeah, and I'm not saying that I think it
to to metal, to metal, to metal,yeah, Because and I'm not
saying that I, I, I think it's,you know, horribly impossible.
But I will say that it's goingto be a heck of a story that God
has built brick by brick, anduh, and that is the goal and
that is what I'll continue topursue in his name.
(25:29):
So awesome.
Speaker 1 (25:31):
Well, thank you so much, of course, joining.
Thank you for having me.
This is sarah o'keefe, o'keefe,o'keefe, okay, o'keefe, and uh,
this was her pot, the podcastabout her life, and uh, thanks
for joining us.
We'll see you next time bye.
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