Christian athlete spotlight: Sarah Stream

Sarah Stream

Basketball is a passion of mine.  I have loved playing it ever since I can remember.  However, once I reached the college level, it got a lot more serious.  I started to dedicate quite a bit more time to it than I did in high school.  Pretty soon I found myself putting the game before everything else, including my faith.  My priorities were definitely out of line.  Instead of fitting my schedule around God, I tried finding time to fit God into my busy schedule.  Not only that, but I let basketball determine my attitude.  My demeanor was based on the outcome of our games or how I played at practices.  This went on for almost a year. Then, with a few seconds left during the first game of my sophomore year, I tore my ACL and lateral meniscus in my right knee.  My season was over.  At first I thought, “Why me?” I was angry and frustrated at myself and God.

Courtesy of Michigan Tech

That injury may have been the best thing that has happened to my faith.  Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” (NIV) My injury made me realize that God has a plan for everything, and all I had to do was trust Him.  As much as I didn’t want to admit it, I started to see that there was a lot more to life than basketball.  Getting my priorities straight and putting my faith in God to take care of everything really helped me to stay upbeat and work through the physical and mental challenges it took to return from the injury. That same attitude helped me last season as well, after I suffered the same exact injury to my other knee. Romans 5:3-5: “Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.  And hope does not disappoint us...”

After having to sit out for two seasons, I realized that playing basketball is truly a gift that I can not take for granted.  God gave me the opportunity to keep on playing, and He has blessed me with the talents to play. Therefore, every time I step onto the court, whether it is for a practice or a game, I try to play for Him. Colossians 3:23 states “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.” There are a lot of things during the course of a practice or a game that I have no control over, but at the same time there are a lot of things I can control. I can choose to help an opposing player off of the floor after she gets knocked down or not complain about a bad call that the referee just made.  I can choose to give my teammate a pep talk after I see her hang her head or dive on the floor after a loose ball in practice. I can choose to remain level-headed throughout a game, and I can choose to remain humble in victory and gracious in defeat. These are just some of the ways that I try to play for the Coach upstairs. I know that whether we win or lose, whether I play well or not, God is going to love me no matter what.  Like I said earlier, basketball is a passion of mine, but Jesus is the passion.