Student+Athlete Highlight: Taylor Whitfield

Like a dash, The Plus has a horizontal bar that represents the school-sport balance, but there is also a vertical line that represents the relationship between the athlete and God. Because Christ laid down his life for them, the athlete lives their life for Him. In this blog series, I feature student+athletes who thrive in school and sport while pursuing the true prize.

Hey y'all! Our guest this week is my friend Taylor Whitfield, a sophomore distance runner for Baylor (hence the "y'all"). In high school, she was atop the Colorado state rankings countless times for cross country and track. As a freshman in college, she was one of Baylor's top three runners at the Big 12 Championships and NCAA regional race. Her grace and strength and times and accolades might make you think that leaving it all out there comes naturally for her, but it's taken a lot of God-confidence for her to get where she is today. Every time she competes is a testament to the power of the Spirit of God in 2 Timothy 1:7. I was empowered just through reading her story, and I hope you are too!

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Hey everyone, this is Taylor Whitfield and I run XC and Track at Baylor University!

I haven’t always loved this sport. Running is not something that I dreamed of doing when I was little. I joke that the only reason I joined cross country was because my parents forced me so that I could make friends. However, I began to wonder if maybe God led me to this sport for a reason.

My passion for cross country came slowly. I have had a lot of struggles (injury, identity issues, doubts, fears, lack of confidence, etc. ) that have made it hard for me to love running. The pain can be difficult for me to push through, and the mental battles can be overwhelming at times. While I did not plan on becoming a runner, I believe that God led me to this sport, because it strengthens my relationship with Him.

Through my sport, I have learned more about God’s character. Like sports, life is tough. In sports and in life we may fail, have a “season ending injury”, or go through something that no one could come back from. But God doesn’t want us to quit. When our sport knocks us down, or when life gets too tough, we can trust that He will work everything out for our good (Romans 8:28). God’s heart is one of redemption and mercy. And he wants us to overcome difficult things with His help, because He is the author of comeback stories. Running has taught me to rely on His strength when mine fails. Because He is the one who holds us when life gets tough.

The biggest thing that God has taught me through my sport is to NEVER LIMIT YOURSELF. As humans, we naturally are afraid of putting ourselves out there. We fear the outcome, we fear the pain, we fear judgment, we fear coming face to face with failure. Fear has taken over a lot of our lives. And this doesn’t just apply to sports, but to any area of life. 2 Timothy 1:7 says that “For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline" (NIV). God does not want us to fear the outcome of our race. We need to stop limiting ourselves in our sport and in our lives because of fear.

Personally, I have big goals this season. And I am sure you do too. And right now, people might call me crazy, and maybe they are right. But it is unfair to limit myself and it is certainly unfair to limit God. Who are we to say that something is impossible when through God all things are possible? (Philippians 4:13). Now I’m not saying that I believe God will make everything in my life perfect. If it’s not part of God’s plan for me to achieve my goals, then He has something even better planned for my future. He is for us, He has our best interests in mind, and we need to trust that. But please listen to this. I am going to give everything that I have to glorify Jesus through running, and I am not going to put limits on what I can do THROUGH Christ this season, or later in my career.

I encourage you to invite the Lord into your everyday life and into your sport. Give your season as an offering to Him. He delights in us when we choose to honor Him with our athletic abilities. If we completely surrender our lives and our hearts to Him, and we invite Him to join us in everything that we do, there is no telling where He might take us.

Because the question is not “how far can I go?” The question is “how far can He take me?”

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If there's one thing that running does, it pushes you to your limits. Mentally, emotionally, and physically. But when you put no limits on yourself or on God, as Taylor encourages us to do, there is no telling how far He can take you. I thought this was beautifully said by Taylor, and knowing her personally, I can say that she lives true to this sentiment. If you want to hear Taylor's testimony in greater detail, check out this piece she did for the Baylor Champions TriBUne.