“A Sabbath Victory,” For the Strength of Youth, Feb. 2024.
A Sabbath Victory
Parker J. from Oregon, USA, hadn’t been feeling close to God. But his decision to keep the Sabbath day holy helped him reconnect.
Photograph by Christina Smith
When 17-year-old Parker J. was preparing for his senior wrestling championship, he trained for any maneuver his opponents could throw at him. But although he’s been building his strength with wrestling, football, shot put, and even accordion for years, Parker’s most important preparation had nothing to do with physical muscle. It took spiritual strength to make this tournament a win in God’s eyes.
Wrestling with a Decision
“Feeling God’s love always fueled me,” Parker says. But for some reason, he wasn’t feeling very close to God in the weeks leading up to the tournament. In the past, he says, “gratitude toward God really helped me strengthen my testimony, so I didn’t know if it was me just not being as grateful or if God was actually withdrawing His hand a little bit.”
The plan for tournament week was simple: Parker’s team would take a bus on Thursday to compete in the tournament on Friday and Saturday. Unfortunately, a nasty snowstorm complicated things. The tournament got pushed back a day, meaning wrestlers who won their Saturday matches would have to compete on Sunday. And Parker’s skill and strength gave him a high chance of making it that far.
Sitting on the bus with his teammates, Parker knew he had a choice to make: wrestle in the Sunday finals or honor the Sabbath. And since he would graduate after this year, it was his last chance to wrestle with his team.
“It was a really tough moment for me to make that decision. I just hadn’t been feeling God’s hand those weeks before the tournament,” he says.
But remembering past experiences with God gave Parker the strength he needed to decide. “Though I hadn’t felt His hand recently, I knew that I had felt His hand before. I promise every week when I take the sacrament to always remember Him, not just when I feel like it. So I decided not to wrestle on Sunday.”
True Triumph
Parker showed up Saturday morning knowing he wouldn’t wrestle in the finals on Sunday, even if he won every Saturday match. But surprisingly, he didn’t feel disappointed anymore. “I was at peace with my decision,” he says. “It was interesting, because the whole season I had just felt so much pressure to win. But at that meet, I was just happy to be there with the people I love. I just wanted to do my best.”
And he did. Parker’s practice paid off, and he won every match that Saturday. But as he forfeited the Sunday match, Parker felt like he won something far more valuable. “That first-place medal would have gotten dusty on my shelf,” he says. “But the clarity and peace I got from choosing God and being able to recognize His hand was just so worth it.”
Parker’s true victory wasn’t in any medal or trophy. It was in choosing God and being able to recognize His hand.
Parker says, “This experience made me realize what I was capable of. A lot of youth don’t believe in their ability to make difficult choices. I’ve been there. But you always have the choice to do the right thing, even if you’ve messed up in the past. God knows you and believes in you. He knows you have the ability to do it.”
Blessings from Sacrifice
Soon after Parker’s spiritual victory, he received his mission call to Romania. He knows that choosing to keep God’s commandments will have a positive influence on his mission and the rest of his life. He says, “Now I know that setting aside one day of the week for God blesses you triple, quadruple more. It’s not ‘Well, I forfeited this final tournament, so I’m going to heaven.’ It’s that my ability to serve, sacrifice, and be closer to God has increased.”
Parker is excited to serve the Lord as a full-time missionary in Romania.
The next time Parker has to wrestle with an important decision, he’s more prepared than ever. “Not a lot of people will have the chance to forfeit the final match of a state wrestling championship,” Parker admits. “The applicable part is sacrifice. Being able to just let something go for God and dedicate it to Him gave me a sense of power that I’ve never had before. God knows you better than you know yourself.” He says, “God will allow you to experience situations that are difficult but never impossible to overcome with His help.”