Christian Athlete of the Week: Adrian Peterson

The Minnesota Vikings’ running back has been carrying his team since he first got drafted in 2007. Adrian Peterson has over 10,000 career rushing yards and 86 touchdowns. His average yards per carry is 5.0 in his career, which is really good. This guy has been the most dominant running back in the NFL since 2008 and although he missed two games last year, Peterson still ran for over 1,200 yards and scored 10 touchdowns. He has not gone a single season where he scored single-digit rushing touchdowns. Not only that, but he’s also the Vikings’ all-time leading rusher after spending just seven seasons with the team. He is a great athlete and an even greater person. Peterson has always been outspoken about his faith in Jesus Christ. The 29-year-old from Texas has grown in the faith since his rookie season and he continues to be a Christian ambassador in the NFL.

“Jesus Christ means the world to me,” Peterson said. “I’ve been through so many different situations through my childhood and now my adulthood. God just helped me get through them and made me stronger at a young age. Through all the adversity and hard times I’ve been through, God has always been present. I’ve always prayed to Him and asked Him to give me the strength to endure and to help others and to better understand whatever situation I deal with in my personal life. And He has always showed up! It brings hope and peace of mind knowing that God gave His only begotten Son for us.”

For more on Adrian Peterson’s relationship with Jesus Christ, check out this video below:

Adrian Peterson is also a big fan of helping out his local community. He started the All Day Foundation to raise awareness and funds for programs that inspire hope and build a better future for at-risk children, with a special focus on girls’ empowerment. He has been a great role model to the young women and has taught them how to live good, healthy lives so that they can have a better future. Peterson’s work on and off the field have inspired many and he is personally one of my favorite NFL players.

Peterson has also been through a lot of tough times in his life. He watched his older brother get run over by a car when he was just seven years old and then in 2011, he suffered a torn ACL in a game against the Washington Redskins. Through all the trials and the pain, Peterson has always placed his faith in God to get him through the tough situations. When he went through the rehab on his torn ACL, Peterson had a positive attitude throughout the whole process.

“So many different times through the rehab where you know I was down, just spiritually, just my body, mentally, things that I had to do – whether it was different exercises, as far as strengthening my leg that was painful, that I just didn’t want to endure at the time,” Peterson said. “You know but you know you have those thoughts that go through your head. You got the devil – he’s out. He’s got those darts. So you can choose to bite on those or you can choose to block them out. Just listen to the thoughts that God put in there. But without Him during this recovery, I had no chance.” (Credit: CNS News)

Adrian Peterson will keep producing for his Minnesota Vikings team during the upcoming training camp and he will try to help lead his team to victory this year in the tough NFC North division.

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Christian Athlete of the Week: Danny O’Rourke

Danny O’Rourke is an American soccer player who plays in the MLS for the Columbus Crew. His skills were first noticed after being named to three consecutive All-Big 10 selections and winning back-to-back national championships with the University of Indiana in 2003 and 2004. From there, he was the fourth overall pick of the 2005 MLS SuperDraft by the San Jose Earthquakes. After moving around team from team throughout his career, he finally found a home with the Columbus Crew in 2007 and has played midfielder and defender for them ever since. He was a crucial part in their 2008 MLS Cup win and helped his team win the Supporter’s Shield award twice in 2008 and 2009, which is awarded to the team with the best regular season record. With all of these accolades and awards, O’Rourke is probably more proud of his relationship with Jesus Christ. He grew up in a Catholic family and never understood why Jesus was so important to him early on in his life. It wasn’t until dealing with knee injuries early in his professional career that O’Rourke had the time to reflect on the meaning of the Mass and his relationship with Jesus Christ.

“Not being able to play soccer for long periods of time gave me a chance to think about life and to pray more than I had before,” said O’Rourke. “Prayer is the essential thing. You can go through all the motions of what Christians should do, but continual prayer makes it personal and gives you the grace to have a better idea of what it is you’re doing in the first place. Another thing that really comes into play when you’re injured is patience. I was used to doing everything pretty much on my own, with very little practical interest in what God wanted to do for me. The injuries were opportunities for me to let go and allow God to work though my life. Physically I was held back by injuries, but spiritually I was set free by them.” (Credit: National Catholic Register)

Not only did O’Rourke learn about patience through his injuries, but strangely, he also learned about strength.

“Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 12:10 that when he is weak he is strong. That sounds contradictory, but in light of faith, it makes sense,” O’Rourke said. “The only way you’re going to be motivated to ask for God’s help is if you realize you need it. Otherwise, you won’t bother asking, and you’ll remain alone.”

O’Rourke made the shift from treating Christianity as a religion to treating it is a relationship with God. He hopes to not only make his team better on the soccer field, but also to make his personal relationship with Christ better. Until we make the same realization that O’Rourke made, we can never fully understands what it means to be a Christian. That personally relationship with Jesus will get us through the ups and downs of life as O’Rourke has so eloquently put it.