This month I will be praying for another Olympian: champion swimmer Anthony Ervin! I first read about him in "Rolling Stone" magazine and was inspired by how he turned his life around. He won the gold in the 50m Freestyle at Sydney in 2000 and a silver in the 4 x 100 Freestyle Relay. Shortly after that, he went on a downward spiral of drugs and womanizing. However, he cleaned up his act and made a triumphant return to the London Olympics this year, placing 5th overall in the 50m freestyle. That's pretty amazing, especially considering all of the damage that he did to his body and the fact that he was 31 at the time. I saw that race and was really hoping that he would get the gold again. That being said, fifth in the world is still pretty awesome. Since he has overcome his personal demons, he has truly inspired me and is one of my personal heroes. I just hope that he doesn't "throw out the baby with the bathwater" and stop playing rock music.
The guy also is trying as hard as he can to be a good person, up to selling his gold medal to raise money for the UNICEF tsunami relief fund. On top of that, he is a spiritual seeker, even visiting a church while looking for truth. That's why I am praying this month that he finds the One who his heart is truly seeking: Jesus Christ.
You can read more about his amazing story here:
http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/videos/olympics-2012-gold-medal-swimmer-anthony-ervin-is-out-to-reclaim-his-title-20120727
(Photo from anthonyervin.com)
