While working in a mundane food wholesale warehouse, I decided to fill the emptiness within myself and undertake ice skating as a sport at the local ice rink. At the ice rink, I was linked up with a partner to do Pair Ice Skating. 

It was an exciting challenge to learn the overhead lifts, throw jumps, and side-by-side spins. We entered the competition and immersed ourselves in this almost daily training, six-seven days per week in the mornings and most nights for eleven months of the year each year.

Competitions were interesting to be involved but to win was not on my agenda. For all that I was involved in with this sport and travel and attention, it felt empty and, in later years, superficial and self-centered.

One day a close work colleague in reception told me about Jesus. Something inside of me resonated in my heart with what she was sharing. We had these conversations often, even during work time.

One day she told me her father died of his illness the previous week. I hoped talking to her would bring some comfort to her. Strangely, it was nice to think of someone else other than myself.

However, she was not so grief-stricken as I thought she would be. She shared with me about her love for Jesus and that she would see her dad in heaven in the future. Occasionally I would look at her while she worked and see she really had something different with this relationship with Jesus.

She asked me to church, so I accepted and went. Shortly after this regular attending, I gave my life to Jesus, and my world turned upside down and inside out for the better. It was awesome to learn about Jesus’s sacrifice and how much he loved us, and what real love was made of. 

I will never look back to the superficial lifestyle; not long after my skating partner gave her life to Jesus. I finished my skating career with no regrets and with my eyes front and centre on our Jesus.