My Daughter Is a Wrestler

For years we have been a wrestling family! We love football, track, and basketball too, but it takes a special level of commitment to be a wrestling family. For several seasons we’ve eagerly followed the wrestling careers of my three oldest sons. This last year my daughter, Mariah, decided to join them. Who could have predicted that a singer/dancer would compete with high school boys and teach them how to win.

An Unexpected  Competitor

My wife and I probably shouldn’t have been surprised when Mariah attended wrestling practice for the first time and came back excited by how much she liked it. Since that time her skills have improved rapidly, along with her love for the sport!

When the boys’ team at the high school made it to the round of 16 in the state team dual competition, they lacked competitors in two weight classes. Wrestlers compete as a team, every weight class counts. A team that has no one wrestling in some weight classes automatically gives the other team 6 points for each deficient class.

To deal with this predicament, the coach asked if my daughter and her friend would be willing to help the boys’ team by wrestling with them in the Sweet 16. The boys’ team wouldn’t be  automatically giving the other team 6 points, and if the girls wrestled well, they might be able to win and give the team a boost.

The coach felt that these girls had a chance to win. I was hoping they would win too, but I wasn’t 100 percent convinced.

A Satisfying Meet

When we got to the meet, the boys these girls would be competing with looked so big and strong. Mariah and her opponent were at the same weight requirement, but her opponent just looked very muscular and athletic.

We were filled with anticipation as the match began. The coach very firmly told  Mariah to listen to him as she was wrestling. He would tell her exactly what to do and exactly when to do it.

The gym was jammed with people yelling and cheering for wrestlers, as well as coaches and observers yelling out advice to the people on the mats. At the beginning of her first match, Mariah struggled a bit to score. The score was 0-0 for a while.

Once she remembered what she needed to do, she began doing her best to listen to her coach and do what she was told. The coach would call out to her “now,” and she would do exactly what she was told—now! Almost every time, she would get a takedown on her opponent and score points.

By the end of the competition, not only did Mariah avoid giving the other team 6 points, she was able to win over both of her opponents by pin, scoring 12 points for the team, and the team advanced to the round of 8 before they lost.

The coach said that he loves coaching Mariah, because she does exactly what he says. Apparently this is rare in wrestlers. Mariah was teachable and willing to listen and do what she was told. She trusted her coach enough to perform his commands with exactness, which enabled her to win.

An Eternal Blessing

Fortunately prophets and their followers are more obedient than most wrestlers. This capacity for obedience is a blessing to the prophets and to those they serve. When the Lord told Moses what to do, Moses followed His instructions with precision. So the Lord, through Moses, was able to free the Israelites from Egyptian bondage and ultimately lead them most of the way to the promised land.

The Lord instructed both Noah and Nephi on how to build a very seaworthy ship. As they followed His commands, they were blessed to create exactly what they needed.  Helaman instructed the Ammonite stripling warriors. “And they did obey and observe to perform every word of command with exactness.” Their perfect faith and perfect obedience allowed every one of them to survive the war, even though all had been wounded.

What is God telling us today? Are we listening? Or are we distracted by the loud voices screaming at us from more directions than those at the loudest wrestling competition.

We must always remember to listen to what God is telling us. He is blessing us with opportunities to learn from living prophets and scriptures, and He invites us to pray to Him directly for our needs and concerns. As we listen, we must trust God enough to perform His requests with exactness.

God wants us to be humble and willing to learn, as the scriptures say, to become “as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love.”  As we strive to do all He asks of us, He  will guide and support us to become what He knows we have the potential to be.