Two-time Olympic gold medalist and FIFA Women's World Cup gold medalist Tobin Heath, 28, grew up in a Christian home, but the athlete admits that she merely piggy-backed on her family's faith until she went to college.
"Like many kids, I wanted to do my own thing so it wasn't until around the end of high school and start of college that I started to develop my own faith. I stopped piggy-backing off of my family's (faith) and wanted to figure out what it was all about. I got super interested in things and obviously from there, it's just grown," Heath tells Beliefnet.
What Heath loves about her relationship with Jesus is that there is no limit to His love and kindness, and she learns something new about Him every day.
"Like anyone who has a relationship knows, the coolest thing about it is that it's infinite how much you can learn and begin to understand. It's something that grabbed me," she says.
Without Jesus in her life, Heath says she would not know how to handle life's ordeals. The Christian athlete says she needs Jesus' guidance not only during "crazy" circumstances, but also during day-to-day activities.
Jesus' anchor was especially helpful for Heath during the World Cup, which she described as a "rollercoaster" experience. Every athlete wants to win competitions, but because of her Christian faith, Heath seeks more than just victory.
"It was neat to just see His hand on that. It's more than just winning or losing. There are so many relationships that go deeper than that. He has a plan in it all. You have to trust that. Even though it's not the ideal outcome—I mean, everybody wants to be a winner—you have to trust that God has a greater plan for this even when you can't see it," she says.
