But on that last shot, I shot a 10 to my opponent’s 9, winning the match and getting bonus points for the score. This moved me into 4th place, and I became the alternate for the U.S. Olympic Team. Now I would have loved to have been able to compete in Beijing, but I knew I was right where God wanted me, and, as a result, I was very content.

It was recently announced that Jacob Wukie of San Diego was selected for the 2012 Summer Olympics.  byFaithonline has the announcement and a brief interview with Wukie.

A website called ‘Beyond the Ultimate’ featured a story about Jacob when he failed to make it to the 2008 Olympics (finished fourth in trials; only three went to Beijing). 

This website was developed when Tony Dungy and Lovie Smith made it to the NFL’s Super Bowl.  They wanted to take advantage of the platform to share their faith, thus the Beyond The Ultimate Web site was formed. It has since grown to feature athletes and coaches from around the world in various sports.

Jacob Wukie tells the story in his own words in the story that follows

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Archery for me has been a lifelong pursuit. When I was younger, I hoped to be good enough one day to be able to go hunting with my bow. I soon began shooting in tournaments and hoped to be competitive someday, and now – having been a top archer in the U.S. for a number of years and representing the U.S. in international tournaments throughout the world – I’m making the push to represent the U.S. in the Olympic Games.

While for a long time archery has been a very big part of what I do, my identity is in my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I grew up in a home where my parents were Christians, and we went to church regularly. I was taught the good news of Christ and how He came, lived the perfect life and then died as a sacrifice for my sins so that if I accepted His free gift of salvation, I could inherit eternal life. And so at a young age, I believed that to be true and asked for my sins to be forgiven and for Christ to come into my life.

Now I constantly seek Him, and the more I learn and understand, the more I understand how much I really do need Him.

I was anxious and frustrated…I asked the Lord to change my heart

In 2007, I moved out to the Olympic Training Center to train for the 2008 Olympics. But in September, the first stage of the Olympic Trials cut the field to the top 16 archers. I came in 17th. Now, I knew my heart wasn’t right before the Lord, and as a result, instead of trusting God and knowing that He was in control and had a plan for me, I was anxious and frustrated. I prayed and asked the Lord to change my heart.

The Lord did change my heart, and I became genuinely excited about the future, even though I didn’t know what the future held.

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