For Mariel Zagunis, Olympic fencing champion, serious, stress-inducing to-do's began at a young age. She was just 19 when she missed qualifying for the 2004 Olympics by one point; she wondered if she had failed all those who supported her, even God.
With another to-do before her, a match in Germany to maintain her international ranking, she decided "she would just have to let it go and put it in God's hands."
The match went like this:
She felt an odd lightness walking into the pavilion. A calm she barely recognized. She moved into position. Her opponent attacked. Mariel parried effortlessly, then put her opponent on the defensive. The battle was fierce, unrelenting, yet she was relaxed, not stressed. In her mind she could see the whole match unfolding, each move setting up the next, like a chess game. It was fun!She went on to win a number of matches that day, and by the time she had returned home, her coach had called to say a fencer had dropped out of the upcoming Games and she was headed to the Olympics as an alternate. Read the rest of her gold-producing journey at Guideposts.
For the rest of us with stress-inducing to-do's, consider this:
Put today's list in God's hands. You may feel an odd lightness walking into your day. You may feel a calm you barely recognize. As you begin your tasks, doubt (your opponent) will strike. As you continue doing each next thing, you will put your opponent on the defensive. Doubt will be fierce, unrelenting, yet you will be relaxed, not stressed. In your mind you will see each next task unfolding, each accomplishment setting up the next like a chess game. It will be fun!At the end of the day, you will wonder how you got done exactly the to-do's needed, though not in the order you might have chosen. Most importantly, you will be onto a gold-producing journey that leads you into God's type of day: freedom to concentrate on Him and others and to-do's accomplished with less stress.
Become an Olympic To-Do-er.
