Never Give Up the Fight to Get Better: Lolo Jones & Evander Holyfield
Jesus Calling: Stories of Faith
Jesus Calling
4.6 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 2 January 2020
⏱️ 35 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
No matter where we grow up, no matter who our parents are or which zip code we live in, each of us will meet challenges. And in those moments, we have a choice: do we give up, or do we keep going? Today we talk with two athletes who, with God by their sides, have endured the sting of defeat and the joy of victory. Lolo Jones is one of only ten athletes who have competed in both the Summer and Winter Olympic games. Lolo shares how some of the hardest moments of her childhood helped her to compete on the world stage. When he was growing up in Atlanta, Evander Holyfield found community (and a hint at his athletic future) at the Boys Clubs of America. He shares how his mother and his faith guided him into a storied boxing career, and why sometimes our defeats are more instructive than our wins.
Links, Products and Resources Mentioned:
Jesus Calling Weekly Prayer Call
Jesus Calling app
Serving Our Savior in the Spotlight: Josh Turner and Michael McDowell episode
Salvation Army
Hurdles of Hope Foundation
London Olympics
Atlanta’s Boy’s Clubs of America
Interview Quotes:
“I definitely think that my hardships molded me for the life that I would have to go through later.” - Lolo Jones
“This statistic of kids that have incarcerated parents—it tremendously increases their chance that at one point in their life, they will be incarcerated as well. I wanted to break that chain.” - Lolo Jones
“I know my childhood strengthened me for a time to stand on the world stage and compete.” - Lolo Jones
“If I go through hardships, I know to say, ‘Okay, this really, really hurt me. This is frustrating. I wanted this so bad, and it was ripped away,’ instead of being like, ‘How could you, God?’”- Lolo Jones
“As Christians, we try to predict how God's going to use us, and when He doesn't use us in that manner, we become hurt.” - Lolo Jones
“I became who I am because I really wanted to please my momma. My mom was so disappointed so much her life, and I wanted to be that joy.” - Evander Holyfield
“Having setbacks paves the way to show you how good God is.” - Evander Holyfield
“Every time you mess up, you've got to have Somebody who will give you another opportunity.” - Evander Holyfield
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | For God to show me that I can have peace in a storm is much more powerful to me than a |
| 0:06.2 | gold medal that's going to sit in my sock drawer. |
| 0:10.4 | Welcome to the Jesus Calling podcast. Today's guests both know what it's like to |
| 0:14.8 | fight to become the best they can be despite challenges from their early years, |
| 0:18.5 | three-time world champion athlete Lolo Jones and four-time heavyweight boxing champion Evander Holyfield. |
| 0:28.7 | First up, Lolo Jones is one of only 10 athletes in history to compete in both the summer and winter |
| 0:34.8 | Olympic Games. |
| 0:35.8 | Lolo's success as a herdler and later as a bobsledder speaks to the incredible fortitude she's |
| 0:40.9 | honed as an endurance athlete, but also as a child who grew up in a home where her father was frequently incarcerated. |
| 0:47.0 | Even as a young kid, Lolo was determined to succeed. |
| 0:50.0 | And today, she tells us her incredible faith fueled her through her |
| 0:54.4 | triumphs as well as the devastating moment she thought God was using her to show |
| 0:59.0 | his glory only to watch her quest for a gold medal dissolve before her very eyes. |
| 1:04.3 | I'm Lolo Jones, summer and winter Olympic athlete, three-time world champion. |
| 1:09.7 | I grew up in Des Moines, Iowa. |
| 1:11.7 | I have five siblings total, so there's's I have three brothers and a sister and it was a rough childhood my dad was in and out of prison growing up and at one point my mom lost her house so we were homeless. |
| 1:25.0 | One day she gave each one of her kids a blanket, put us in the car and just started driving. |
| 1:31.0 | And she said she didn't know where she was going she |
| 1:35.1 | didn't know where she was heading and she ended up driving to the church we |
| 1:39.5 | attended every weekend the Salvation Army. |
| 1:42.7 | And so we actually lived in a church |
| 1:45.5 | while we were homeless until my mom could get her feet |
... |
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