To the Girl Stepping Into a New Season of Life

To the girl who’s finding her purpose after quitting her sport. Many of us have gone through or
will go through the heartbreak of a sport ending whether it’s from injury or just moving on to
other things in life.

You may be asking yourself, “well what now?”

This was the exact question I was asking myself a year ago after playing my last club soccer
game ever. The heartbreak stepping off the field knowing I would never experience something
like this again was heart wrenching.

My entire life I played competitive sports. Every weekend growing up consisted of traveling all
over the state for soccer and basketball. Eventually I decided to focus all my time on soccer and
quit basketball right before highschool. When I was in seventh grade, I made the decision that I
wanted to play soccer in college. I put countless hours into extra training, doing everything to
get recruited. My freshman and sophomore year of high school looked promising and I started
to get a couple coaches’ attention. My junior year of high school something changed. I no longer
was loving soccer and felt very burnt out. I didn’t feel like I was playing my best and I suffered
mentally and physically. I had a rough time maintaining my weight, and had a lingering Achilles
injury and the thought of playing in college at this point became daunting. Junior year is one of
the most important years for recruiting and I was struggling with deciding if I even wanted to
play anymore.

Senior year came, and most of my friends were already committed and knew what schools they
were going to, and the time came for me to decide whether I was going to commit somewhere
or not play at all. I had options but I still wrestled with the idea of playing in college because it
was something I dreamed of since I was younger and I didn’t know what college life would look
like without it. Ultimately I was still struggling mentally and couldn’t make that sort of
commitment so I decided Grand Canyon University was where my next home would be.

I did not have a great relationship with God at this point in my life. I knew Jesus and grew up in
a Christian household, but by no means had a personal relationship with Him because I didn’t
know what that looked like. I knew I was supposed to read my Bible and pray but I pushed it to
the side and tried to figure my life out on my own. First semester of college came around and
seeing all my friends’ college seasons start was really hard mentally. I felt like I lost a part of
who I was.

I got invited to a Christian camp the first week of college and decided to go with a couple
friends. It was single handedly the best decision I have ever made. That weekend transformed
my relationship with the Lord. There was a moment at camp where we just sat in silence with
Him which is something I had never done before. It made me realize that all these years I was
just talking to God and asking for answers, but never gave Him a chance to actually speak. It
was an incredible experience just sitting in silence and praying with no distractions. It is so easy
to let the day go by and forget to have quiet time with the Lord, but allowing him to speak into your life brings so much comfort. That weekend, I realized that building my foundation off being
an athlete and making that my sole identity was setting me up for disappointment and failure.
The Lord says we are so much more, he calls us beloved, that we should be called children of
God (1 John 3:1). That was the first moment in my life that I saw myself for how God sees me.

Psalms 23:1-4 says, “the Lord is my Shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green
pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right
paths for His name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for
you are with me; your rod and staff, they comfort me”. This piece of scripture is something I hold
near to my heart because it is a gentle reminder that the Lord has control and will guide us
along the right path. Just because I didn’t play in college does not mean that’s all the Lord has
planned for me!

My advice to all girls is to think about what you are putting your identity in. Is it your
relationship? Your lifestyle? Maybe what others think of you? It is so easy to base our identity
and self worth off of things that won’t that won’t fill us. Every girl reading this should know, the
Lord has a beautiful plan for your life and he knows the desires of your heart. You may not be
where you thought you’d be at this point in your life, but God has wonderful sweet plans for you!
It is easier said than done, because we all have an idea of our perfect life in our head, but the
Lord provides us with exactly what we need in every season of life. Just because the Lord’s
plans look different than what we had planned, doesn’t mean His plans aren’t good!

<3 Sorrel Stratford