By Movieguide® Staff
Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson East is sharing a moment in her life where she chose faith over skepticism.
“For a long time, I felt like since I couldn’t truly understand who God was,” she said during an episode of the OFF THE VINE podcast. “I found myself at a place where I was either like, ‘There’s no way this can be true,’ and I can either go that direction, or I can try and figure it out some more.”
Johnson East continued, “And I just kept thinking, ‘It would be so much easier to go down the path of ‘it doesn’t make sense’ But that felt a lot scarier than going down the curious route of ‘maybe I should just start asking more questions and seeing if I can find more answers.’ And when I went down that path, this overwhelming sense — energy, vibe, whatever — of peace kept building with everything that I learned, that I just got hooked by it.”
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The former gymnast has previously spoken about this time of uncertainty in her life, telling Jesus Calling, “I feel like I struggled with purpose and identity for so many years. But I think it had to do with my career as an elite athlete.”
“I remember going to the Olympics, winning an Olympic gold medal, standing on the medal podium with a gold medal around my neck and feeling almost empty, thinking like, I had given up my whole life for this moment,” Johnson East recalled. “But I still felt empty and I felt like I should have felt fulfilled, and I didn’t. And I was raised in a very faith-based family that always pushed a greater purpose, but I got kind of lost in my career of gymnastics.”
She concluded, “So after gymnastics, I went on this journey of trying to strengthen my faith and strengthen where my purpose in life was laid. I found my purpose of serving a greater purpose, and now I feel like my purpose is probably being a mom.”
Johnson East elaborated on this in a recent conversation with Business Insider, saying, “For me, motherhood has been another way to find success and fulfillment every day and step out of my comfort zone.”
“That’s what I want my kids to learn about success: It happens in the small moments,” she explained. “Success isn’t an Olympic gold medal, an NFL contract, or a big paycheck — it’s finding what makes you fulfilled in life.”
Johnson East’s reflections on spiritual curiosity emphasize the importance of choosing faith, even when it’s hard.
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