Psalm 119:9-16 (New International Version)
9 How can a young person stay on the path of purity?
By living
according to your word.
10 I seek you with all my heart;
do not let me
stray from your commands.
11 I have hidden your word in my heart
that I might not
sin against you.
12 Praise be to you, Lord;
teach me your
decrees.
13 With my lips I recount
all the laws
that come from your mouth.
14 I rejoice in following your statutes
as one rejoices
in great riches.
15 I meditate on your precepts
and consider
your ways.
16 I delight in your decrees;
I will not
neglect your word.
Gabby Douglas will soon have more money than she ever
dreamed.
With a vibrant smile and two gold medals to her credit at
the Olympics, the 16-year-old gymnast undoubtedly will cash in with endorsement
and marketing deals worth millions of dollars. At the top of her wish list? An
Acura NSX.
"I want the one like Iron Man's off 'The
Avengers,'" Douglas said. "That was a nice car."
The fame and fortune that Douglas instantly captured may
make some things easier, but they won't remove the difficulties from her life.
When she faces such struggles, she turns to Scripture.
"God has given me this awesome talent to represent
Him. Glory goes up to Him, and the blessings fall down on us," Douglas
said Aug. 5 in a press conference at the North Greenwich Arena.
When she's learning something new that may seem
intimidating, she tells herself, "God has not given us a spirit of fear,
but a spirit of peace, love and a sound mind," she said. When she's having
trouble perfecting a skill, she quotes, "All things are possible through
Him."
"You just mentally quote that, and it builds your
faith up so much," Douglas said. "God will never fail you. He's
always on your side."
Her first Tweet after winning the individual all-around
read simply, "Let all that I am praise the LORD; may I never forget the
good things he does for me."
Before Douglas left for London, Quintin Stieff, pastor of
the Valley Church where she attends in West Des Moines, Iowa, likened her to a
light that should shine to draw attention to God. Douglas shared her testimony
with the congregation.
"The glory goes all to Him. He's waking me up every
morning and He's keeping me in the gym every day. That's very important,"
she said, asking her church family to pray for her to "bring home the
gold."
Douglas made history, winning two golds in the first week
of the Olympics -- one in the women's individual all-around and one in the
women's team competition. She's the first African American woman to win gold in
the Olympic individual all-around, and the first American woman to win gold in
both the individual all-around and team competitions at the same Olympic Games.
While she couldn't replicate that success in the second
week, finishing eighth in the uneven bars and seventh in the beam, her
performances will be remembered as one of the London Olympics' biggest stories.
Her face is already on a Kellogg's Corn Flakes box.
At age 14, Douglas left her family home in Virginia
Beach, Va., to stay with a host family, Travis and Missy Parton, in West Des
Moines, Iowa, allowing her to train with coach Liang Chow. Douglas' mother
Natalie Hawkins sends Douglas Scripture passages twice daily to keep her on
track to victory, Douglas said.
"When it was time for me to go to bed I would just
put my earphones in and just fall asleep listening to the Bible," she told
the congregation. "It's been a daily thing. I love reading about the Word.
We have to put on the full armor of God, so when Satan tries to come against
us, we are ready and prepared."
Dear Lord we thank You for Your Word. We pray that that we
would stay in the Word and hide it in our hearts so that we would have the testimony
like Gabby. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
