God’s Timing Is Perfect

CrossFit Games East Regionals 2016

My entire life so far has led me to the most perfect moment. That moment happened exactly one week ago today. I qualified for my first CrossFit Games as an individual athlete. I have never been more confident in my destiny. That I am on the most perfect path that God has paved for me since before I was born. Putting this experience into words is not easy. But I am going to try! To start, let’s go back in time.

I was born August 10th, 1990. My beautiful mother, Elaine, raised my sister, Tamar and my two brothers, Caleb and Zach, and I all on her own. She sacrificed her entire life for us and she is the strongest woman I know. I get a lot of my strength from her.

While growing up, my primary focus was gymnastics. I loved it! I spent the majority of my life in the gym. By 13, I was doing double sessions.. 5am to 7:30 am.. off to school.. then 2:00pm until 7:30pm. I so desperately wanted to be great at gymnastics. I worked hard all the way up through college, but never managed to be great. Little did I know, gymnastics was only preparing me for what came next.

Post college I began looking for a new method of fitness. I stumbled upon CrossFit in February 2013. One week after starting CrossFit, I decided to compete in the Open. That year I took 395th place in the North East region. I trained on and off in 2013, not really sure if I wanted to dedicate the time to being a competitive crossfitter. I competed again in 2014 and finished in 64th place in the North East. Now, I was hooked!

In July 2014, I decided to switch gyms to work with Brandon Petersen at CrossFit Free. I knew I loved CrossFit and I wanted to see how far I could go with the sport. Brandon was the man for the job. He believed in me. He cared about me. He pushed me to my full potential.. and is helping me push past that! My move to CrossFit Free was a defining moment in my life. I began commuting an hour to Free in order to train, while still working a full time job at a nursing home. The days were long and tough. The CrossFit Open came creeping around again.. In 2015, I finished 4th in the North East region. This was my time!! Or so I thought.

Heading into Regionals that year I was so nervous. I HAD to make it to the Games. Regionals wasn’t about fun, it was about accomplishment. Day 1, total blowout. Near last place finishes in both events, almost minutes slower than my training times. I remember earlier that morning, I had read my daily devotional (Jesus Calling) and it told me my day would be difficult, but to trust God. I left that day in tears. Day 2 proved better. I had a glimpse of hope after coming in 3rd in the HS walk, but then managed to miss my snatch attempt at 181 (A number I hit moments before in the warm-up area). Why me? Why couldn’t I just compete to the best of my ability? I did not understand, until now.

Post Regionals 2015, I was determined. In my training year from 2015-2016, I did not miss one day of training. Not only was I training harder, but I was also training with intent. I found myself an amazing chiropractor and nutritionist. And I spent some time focusing on my mental game. This year, not only did I develop as an athlete, but I also developed as a person. I found my true passion for CrossFit.

CrossFit is my calling. I have never been so sure of something in my entire life. CrossFit breathed life into me, changed the way I think about my body, and gave me so many beautiful relationships. It gave me a way to change the world. A way to spread love and joy to people I don’t even know. That is my destiny. I love God. I love people. And I love fitness. The gifts He’s given me still boggle my mind. How does little-ole me deserve such great gifts? God is so good.

Regionals 2016.

Let’s just say, everything did not go according to “my plan”, but I had many glimpses of light that showed me the way.

Day 1, I finished in 4th place overall. Things went well that day; I was already looking forward to day 2, although it would prove to be my toughest day.

Day 2 started with events 3 and 4. Two workouts back to back, that I knew would be my hardest. I had high hopes for event 3. I had completed the workout 3 times, each time finishing under 5 minutes. The clock was ticking down.. “Athletes stand by” BEEP! I ran to my wallball target. First rep, miss. Second rep, miss. I kept throwing the wallball and kept missing the target. Panic set in. I did not finish the workout under the 6 minute cap. I was 15 reps shy, which resulted in a 26th place finish. Event 4 proved to be equally difficult, resulting in a 22nd place finish. Devastating start to day 2; I just blew it. I ruined my chance of qualifying for the CrossFit Games. I refused to let myself cry. This must be God’s plan for me I thought. Maybe my time was meant to be next year.

Glimpses of light.

After events 3 and 4, I got onto my phone. While perusing instagram, I came across a post by Nathan Bramblett (a Christian crossfitter who just barely missed qualifying for the Games this year). His post was from the book of James 1: 2-4.. “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” This was my first glimpse of light that day. I had to persevere. The hard part of the weekend was over and it was time to have fun!

My second glimpse of light came from Marcus Filly. I was prepping for event 5, joking about how sweaty this workout was going to be. Laughing off the idea of me blowing my chance. He said to me, “Don’t forget, that the weekend is barely half over.” This stuck with me. He was right! Only 4 events down, 3 to go. I must persevere.

Event 5 ended up being one of the coolest moments of my CrossFit career. I sprint started the workout; I had to leave no room for doubt. I was in a close battle for first place with Liz Adams. While running my final leg on the true form, my CrossFit Free crowd started chanting my name.. “TASIA” “TASIA” “TASIA”. My third glimpse of light. At the end of day 2, I sat in 7th place.

Day 3.. I had nothing to lose. After a 4th place finish in event 6, I sat 4 points out of 5th place. FOUR POINTS! One placement is 5 points. If I could win this event, I would be going to the CrossFit Games! Instead of letting pressure eat at me, I prayed. I prayed so much that weekend. Each time asking God to let me shine through Him. Before event 7 I prayed boldy. “Please let me shine, God. If it be in your will, let it be done.” This was in His plan all along. All I had to do was show up!

My fourth glimpse of light came from my teammate, Chase Smith. Seconds before event 7 began, I heard him from behind me, “Pressure is a privilege!”. He was right. I was so close to fulfilling part of my destiny, I just needed to accept the pressure and use it.

My final glimpse of light came after the first round of event 7. I do a lot of visualization leading up to competition and during competition. Before the event, I sat down and visualized the workout. I knew legless rope climbs were a huge strength for me. I envisioned a sprint start and then heading into my final rope climb with time to spare. Do you think that’s crazy? I visualized perfectly how the event would go! After my set of 3 rope climbs, I remember running back to my bar and just hearing the crowd roar. For me?! I could feel it in my bones, in my heart. This was my time. I had envisioned it. It was perfect.

God was about to give me a great gift. But He would not let me have it easy. In order for me to shine, I would have to persevere through struggle on day 2. I would have to hold my head high and believe, without a shadow of a doubt, that His plan for me was perfect. If I truly wanted to spread love and joy, I would have to shine even in dark times. This is true for everything in life. The hardest, saddest, most painful moments have led me to the most perfect ones. I am so blessed that I get to feel everything so deeply because of Him. The moment after event 7, will have hold of my heart forever. Although, I’m sure God will give me more perfect moments to hold on to in the future.