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Record Live is a conversation about life, spirituality and following Jesus in the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
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βHello, everyone, and welcome to another week of Record Live. Jarrod, how are you?
I'm well, Zanita. I'm excited because I think this is my favorite thing I get to do each week. It's pretty cool.
It is awesome. I've been reflecting on it lately. I'm like, oh, every Wednesday at 4pm, just get to have a chat with someone new.
Yeah. Who's exciting. We've been having. A few really good conversations recently about pastors and mental health. We have one more guest, which I think we're both really excited about this final guest of that series, but.
We're taking a break today. He is in transit. He is traveling. So we're trying to tee up another time. So that will be coming. But today we have another really exciting guest. Do you want to fill us in who we've got today?
We do Zanita and it's exciting because as some of you may know the FIFA Women's World Cup in football or soccer is on at the moment.
And our guest today has an amazing testimony. She's been featured in the magazine recently, and we just Couldn't pass up the opportunity to have her on. Her name is Lucy Martin . Lucy, it's amazing to have you on today. Thanks for joining us.
Hey, Jared and Zenita. Thank you so much for this opportunity.
And yeah, I'm really excited to have a chat today.
Now, it's really exciting to speak to you at this time because, , I was up the other night watching Australia versus Denmark. We've made it to the round of 16. We've, won our first game in, the knockout stages of the World Cup tournament.
And it seems that. Australia has a lot of really, amazing women's sports people, like just across cricket and soccer and a number of different areas. Australia just won the Netball World Cup. So our female sporting stars are doing a great job. Lucy, you had a bit of a career as a professional soccer player yourself.
Can you just tell us firstly, how you're finding the world cup and what, what do you think Australia's chances are in that tournament?
Yeah, no worries. So I've been around soccer since I was about six years old and my career lasted about 23 years. So I'm retired now. The World Cup at the moment, it's actually just blown my mind at the standard and the level and the quality that the girls are playing at, not only Australia, but even countries like Colombia and Nigeria, , Jamaica, even you just see, I think it's a time now that as we are feeding in more money and more, , exposure into women's soccer.
You just see that that really does make a difference and it just lifts everything and it comes out in the way that we play. And I think Australia's performances have been incredible. I've been lucky enough to play alongside and against some of the girls that are currently in the Australian national team.
So it's awesome to see. That they've just kind of gone through this journey and some of you might or might not know, but they've literally been playing together for, I reckon a solid, like 10 years now. So they know a lot about each other. They've obviously grown together and, they've played a lot of games together too.
So you do find that they are gelling a lot on the pitch and that. They know how they play. And I think regardless if we have Sam Kerr or not, I think it's cool that we know that we can prove ourselves and can score and can win games. So I think we're in a great opportunity and position at the moment. Being host, host country, I think that just gives it even more excitement.
And it just gives them that kind of that 12th man of supporting on the park. So. The hopes are high that we do continue to push through when , we just keep winning our games. But honestly, even if our next game, if we dropped, I'm sure everyone would still be so proud of where we've come..
Yeah, it's awesome.. Was it ever like a dream of yours , to be in the Matildas team and to be playing like World Cup? You mentioned you've recently retired. How is it watching now that they're making these massive breakthroughs?
Yeah. Oh, they've been making breakthroughs for a while now and I definitely did have the dream to play for my country. It was like the highest level you can possibly play. So obviously you're going to want to try and get to that, point. But unfortunately throughout my career, I had a lot of injuries, sports related, non sports related.
So it was, it was almost like I was constantly just rehabbing and trying to get back, to be fit enough to play. I did, feel for Sam Kerr when she did get injured. I feel really sorry for her in a way because she's one of the best in the world. And she's got a World Cup on her doorstep.
And up until Monday night, she hadn't stepped on the pitch yet. And that must have been really hard, especially being such a celebrity of a player. , but yeah, , it's been a dream of mine. It's put to bed now, which is okay. And I think when I do watch now, it's a different perspective of, oh, I wish I was out there.
It's like, nah, I'm just really proud and happy about where they are and how they're playing. , but I'm still very passionate when I watch. I'm very passionate and it's hard not to be critical. But you gotta trust that. I would say the coaching staff have, have looked at this for almost five years now and they have such a good game plan.
You gotta trust.
Lucy, tell us a little bit more about your career. As we get into your story, , can you just give us perhaps some of the highlights you said you were playing from a very young age. , your family was quite involved in football in South Australia. So
tell us a little bit about your sporting career and how that unfolded and some of those injuries, if you like, that sort of derailed that.
Yeah, derailed is a great word. , yeah, so I think I've got two siblings. I've got an older sister and an older brother. And my brother. enjoyed playing sports as well.
So I was very much a tomboy growing up and me and my bro would just be in the backyard kicking the ball around and just pretty much doing everything we could outside and that really started everything. In terms of the sporting side of things, I would always go to his games and I'd be fully kitted out and I wanted to play and I'd always get told no cause I was a girl and like I'd get hurt and get injured, but I just wanted to play and.
Honestly, they must have been so sick of telling me that I'm not going to play, but I continue to pursue it. And so the first time that I got to play was actually, it was AFL, it was footy. It was for my brother's team. I reckon I was about five or six and they had, they didn't, if like every week they were struggling to, to fill in a team with numbers, but for, for one, I don't know what the reason was, but this week they were just happy to have me fill in.
And so we played a footy match and we scored, our team scored two goals to one point. And then the other team scored two points and I ended up kicking both goals for my team. So I was like, this star of a player and all the parents were kind of like, man, she can play. And I think that's kind of kicked it all off.
And I always had this my parents. Call me daredevil Lucy because I just wouldn't do the most craziest things. I go climbing equipment and just I didn't really have any fear. And I think that really came out on the soccer pitch. But yeah, my grandpa, my mom's mom was affiliated with the Football Federation at a very early stage in South Australia.
He was chairman for quite a few years and he's actually recently just passed. So,,, it was amazing looking back on the legacy that he has left. But that definitely rubbed off on our family. And then my dad was just a natural athlete. He was good at almost any sport he, he picked up.
And , he did stop at a quite a young age because he also had a few injuries and didn't really see that it was worthwhile to continue pursuing. But, from a young age, I literally did every, everything I could played school soccer, did indoor soccer.
And then as I got older, I played for Adelaide Olympic, which was a boys team up until I was 13. And that was really interesting for character building, I guess, when I was quite young, because I was a girl and I guess boys at that age, they are still a bit standoffish towards girls.
Well, I think my talent kind of just cut through them and they realized I could play in that. It didn't really matter if I was a girl or not. I would help the team out. So yeah, that helped me to work through different challenges you have being a girl.
But as of 13 years old, I got told to go play for the women's team cause I was taking up too many boys spots and the parents weren't really too happy about it. So I got booted out of the club. It is what it is. I think maybe my time was up, but, I joined the girls team and, and played. Under 17s at a young age of 14, so I was always just playing a higher level than what age I was. And then from there, there was just a lot of state rep teams. I think every year I got picked to play, for state and would go away in different states and play. And that was really awesome.
Lots of different development squads too. Like there was one called Young Sensation, which is almost like a young Matildas, training squad. So trying to do. them for a little bit, but a lot of my development stopped because of the injuries that I had. And it's really hard to name them all.
It's easy to name what I haven't hurt but I've had like your soft tissue injuries. I've had, broken bones. I've had just like traumatic accidents as well, like car accidents and other pretty crazy. I managed to just continue pushing through and rehabbing and just trying to focus on what I could control.
And then as I got older, when I hit around 19, 20, I was playing the highest level in SA and I guess that's where I was kind of hitting my peak. , and really, establishing myself as a soccer player. And that's when I moved in from a midfielder striker role to a center back.
And I think a lot of the coaches could see the vision that I had and the ability to read the play. And that's kind of where I sat. And from there, it was almost like everything just took off. , and that's where I got selected to trial for Adelaide United, which came at a very interesting time, because I just came back off, I think I was in Europe for five weeks, living.
My life having having a good time and I came back and I got nominated to trial and I thought, right, I need to get myself back in. I need to get fit again. And so I worked really hard to do that. And then I got picked, which was amazing. But unfortunately, the first session after being selected.
I had a stress fracture in my shin, so I was pretty much injured for most of the season, which was a rollercoaster of events. It was like, you're in, now you're not in, and it was, yeah, really hard to, stay positive throughout it all. But I did come back and I did have my debut and, , actually played against Sam Kerr on my first game and that was...
I mean, if that's at all, I'm pretty happy with that.
Yeah. Awesome. It sounds like you have a lot of determination, like demanding to play with the boys and then going through all those different teams and then pushing through all sorts of injuries. You obviously have a very strong mind to keep going.
What happened once you, got your debut, what was kind of next? I know that there's a change in your story, but, did things just continue to be awesome, or what was your story from then on?
Yeah, so after the season finished,, I think it was 2016, I actually moved to Melbourne, so it was my first time moving to Melbourne, to pursue,, a career opportunity.
So I got a new role within the organisation that I was at, and also to continue with soccer. I guess I had a name for myself and I had a few clubs that poached me when I went to Melbourne, , South Melbourne being one of them, which I ended up playing a couple of seasons with and winning a title.
So it was really interesting to see once you play at a professional level, how much that changes, not only your own head space, but how people view you as well. And it was really kind of hard not to get a big head in a way because you're like, well, I've kind of made it and you kind of look at yourself.
as being superior to someone else, even though you're trying not to, but it's like you, it's just the environment that you're in. Like it's elite, it's professional. You do feel really important. So when I did move to Melbourne, it was really exciting to get poached from this club and to play with just some amazing players.
And then from there. I kind of took a turn and thought I'll give AFL a crack. And so , I played, not AFL, but I played footy, one level underneath the AFL W and. I loved it. I thought it was really fun., I got really fit. And then in one game, , I tackled a girl and I had a really traumatic leg break.
My leg was literally like in the other direction. And I was like, Wow, , I've broken my leg here. And the poor girl was like, they said that they literally couldn't sleep for nights. 'cause I just had that image of my leg stuck in their head, . And I felt terrible. But that kind of put, everything on hold again.
And I had, pretty big surgery in my leg and I'm just really happy that I can walk and ended up coming back and playing soccer again after that, just because I felt like I couldn't end it on that note. But yeah, it definitely did open up opportunities for me and I've just followed that, but then I think.
With my journey with God, which I'm sure we'll touch on, it kind of put things into perspective for me and it was easier for me to let go of my sporting career and kind of refocus on things that are more important in life.
Let's head in that direction, Lucy. , the thing that stands out to me is the resilience that it takes.
I think a lot of us who don't play professional sport don't understand how hard it is to . Rehab from an injury, like how much mental fortitude it takes to go, you know, I want to get back to that level. And yet through all of those injuries and you've detailed, they weren't just sporting injuries.
You had a, was it a car accident, , as well , . And yet that didn't cause you to give up sport. What did happen though, is you found God somewhere on this journey. Can you tell us a little bit about, how that came into your world?
Tell us a little bit about your journey before God and after God. And what was it about, , finding God that, Really changed your life because in many ways you had a lot of good things going in your life But yet you were still looking for God in some senses and found him And can you tell us a little bit about about that part of your journey?
Yeah, definitely. So Growing up, I was a Greek Orthodox, my mom's Ukrainian, my dad's Greek, so we would go to church on the festive days, I guess, Easter, Christmas, um, I wouldn't understand a word they're saying, they're talking in Greek or Ukrainian, and I don't know that well enough. So for me, it was almost like a.
Not a, not a chore or a burden, but it was, you sit down, you be quiet, and you, you're in your best behavior. So my idea of God was that he's like this strict person that you need to follow all the rules and can't have any fun around. And I was like, that's not, that's not too fun. But yeah, it's, it's interesting how it all came to.
, it definitely came from my husband, at the time when I first met him, I didn't have a relationship with God, didn't understand what that looked like, had really no idea about the whole Christian world, and he, just through being with him. I think it really happened from the early stages of all of being together that I saw that he was just different.
He was very different to anyone else that I had met and he would just slowly invite me to things. And at first I was a little bit skeptical and hesitant and always thought even just talking about God or religion was like a very taboo subject that made me feel really uncomfortable. But then as I hung out with him a bit more and we had a house church at his house and I remember sitting there and just feeling this, aura of love around me.
I couldn't explain it, I was in a room with randoms that I didn't know, and yeah, I just felt so much love was around me. And from that moment, I was like, there's something going on here. There's something to this. And,, I just kind of brought my questions to Trent and asked him things as they'd come up.
But he never really, he never pushed it on me. He allowed me to just go through my journey. And he was just there for me when I had questions, which was really amazing. But the big moment was, when I broke my leg. It almost knocked me to a point where I had to stop. And I'm a very busy girl.
I like to keep busy. I like to be doing something all the time. I like to achieve a lot of things. Well back then I did, so it was almost like God knocked me down and got me just to stop so I could be still for a moment so I could hear him.
Mm-hmm. . And so when I was, laying in bed, Trent's mom sent me a book., it was, , A God given purpose it's a book by Rick Warren. His stuff is amazing and it's very practical. And so I was recovering, literally laying in bed, reading that. , and it said, if you take God to be your Lord and Savior, get down on your knees and pray it.
And I mean, I'm in a cast and I'm like, I'm just going to do it. And I did. It was like the weirdest thing, because I don't think I realized what I was doing at the time, but I felt the urge to tell Trent's Mum about it, and then her response to it was just so amazing. And then from that moment, , it was almost, now looking back, it was almost like that's when the Holy Spirit then entered me, and it was like all of a sudden, my eyes were open and there was this whole new life and truth and answers that were waiting for me.
And then I remember thinking, I know nothing about this and when I go to. When I, when I would hear people talk about their relationship with God or Christianity, I was like, I don't even know what they're talking about. Like I'm never going to know enough, for this to actually make a difference in my life.
But then I realized like, it's not about everyone's on their journey. And it doesn't matter how much, you know, that journey never ends. And I think that was really special to hold onto that. And then from there, it's just been a beautiful journey where like I've learned. how to incorporate all the beautiful elements of living in Christian life into my life, like worship music, listening to sermons, reading the Bible.
, I love the YouVersion app. I think it's just, especially now it's a great. Everything to just jump on and it gives you so many prompts and cues and it has so much resource, , and then also how that then affected, ever since I did Give My Life to God, I've been transformed completely, , in so many different ways.
Yeah, I just think it's so amazing. , but the thing that's probably changed the most is the people that I actually choose to hang out with now. , and instead of hanging out with people that I used to go and party with or people that have high status or people that I felt cool around, I really enjoy spending my time with those.
Godly people, and I can see the difference in character. And I just think I was missing this whole thing the whole time. And I'm just so thankful that I have found someone like Trent and that he was able to, not push me into it. He just allowed me to. to work it out myself , and to wrestle that with God.
And it's, yeah, it's just been an amazing journey, throughout it. And it's just crazy. Even talking to you guys right now about it. And I've been told a few times how crazy my soccer success was quite. big in my eyes. I think I was quite successful, but my testimony has reached far more people than my soccer career ever has.
And, it just goes to show you what's more important in life and that what God is doing in my life right now is far greater than what any sporting career would be for me. And I just, I love that idea.
Yeah. So cool. Praise God. It's, I guess I'm interested to hear, what your transition was like.
Like obviously you, Mentioned that you had Trent and his friends and you're hanging out with different people, but I'm not sure maybe you can speak into this after you broke your leg. I'm sure you still had the same friends in soccer and we're still playing with those people. And we're still associating with them and probably still wanted to be friends with them as well.
Like, how is that transition of like, discovering God discovering Christianity kind of falling in love with that and beginning on that journey, but then. going back into your normal life?
Yeah, that's a really good question. And I think it happened over time., when I first accepted God, I felt like not a lot happened at once, I guess I felt like it is, has been a slow burn and with hindsight, I've been, I look back and then seeing the big changes that have happened in my life.
But I think it was like. Just as I sunk deeper into just researching and finding more about Christianity and who God is and what his character was like, it gave me just a lot of truth and answers. And then from there I was able to recognize. God's voice or I was being convicted a lot more. So I felt like when I was in certain situations and mind you, I was still living in Melbourne.
Trent was actually living in Adelaide. So we were apart a lot of the time, going long distance. So I definitely had that temptation of when I'm not around him going back into my old ways, but it needed to happen because as I was living that selfish life, I was getting this feedback of. Just questioning what am I doing?
This doesn't feel right. And I almost was able to observe the Holy Spirit working through me. Just really questioning what I'm doing and why I'm doing it. And I think over time I was able to just pick up on that voice a lot and then settle into knowing that if I'm convicted about something and I then go against it.
It's only going to hurt me in the longterm. So for me, it was easy just to listen to the voice and try really hard to follow what it was saying, because I knew that was the healthiest choice for me. , it wasn't easy though. And there were times where obviously asked for forgiveness and repented.
But after a while, I think. Getting into that pattern of following the voice and being obedient and obeying what was being said, it became easier and easier. And I still have those challenges today. Especially my relationships. I feel like my stage of life, it's like we're about to have a family and I'm finding that my old, it's always like this.
We'll see when change is happening and God is helping me to look at the people that are in my life now and then almost introducing me to new people that will be best for me in this next season. Which is hard because I'm a people pleaser and I don't want to not be friends with someone or I don't want to say no to a friendship and I also don't want people to be like annoyed at me and stuff like that.
So it's been a very hard battle, to know what the
God's promises just give me the courage and strength to know that whatever's working right now, whatever he's working through me is going to be best for me to just try and really lean into that. ,
there's a lot of maturity, in what you've shared because a lot of, new Christians, when people come in, they, they feel like if they fail, , it derails their journey. They're like, Oh no. You know? Um, to acknowledge that, yeah, we all, we all screw up whether we've been a Christian for a long time or a short time.
Like we can't attain perfection this side of heaven, but there's a growth and a transformation that happens. And what you've shared is just, it's really beautiful to hear, um, someone who that's still fairly fresh for. I mean, you were baptized. When were you baptized recently?
I was baptized July, June 17th of this month.
Yeah.
Yeah. So. It's fresh and baptism obviously is not the end of a journey,, it's a new beginning of the rest of the journey, but, um, tell me what's the favorite thing about being a Christian or giving your life to Jesus? Like, what's the thing that just surprises you that you didn't know you could have before you started this journey?
Yeah, first thing, definitely just the hope, the hope that comes with believing in God and especially when you think about it from a death perspective, like I feel whatever happens in life. I've been, I mean, I've only touched on a few things, , today, but I've had grief, a lot of loss in my, in my time.
I've had, I was talking about traumatic injuries. I've been in comas and learning how to walk again. Come from a very broken family. So I have been through a lot and that might be where the, the maturity or the character has come through. But I think having hope that no matter what happens, I'm going to be okay.
And that I'm equipped enough to deal with what's going to happen. And another really positive thing that I feel like I've learned throughout Christianity is just the perspective that you get. It's not about me. It's about him. And you can always look at something from a different perspective and learn from it.
And that comes with anything you think about. But especially with when dealing with people or relationships, it's so good to be able to just take a step back and think about the other person and where they're coming from and why they're doing what they're doing, both positive and negatively.
I think just that level of perspective and understanding has really helped me. And then obviously just the generosity that comes with it too, because it is more about giving, not about receiving, even though receiving is nice. It's like you still benefit from giving. And I think back to before I did follow God and I thought I was living a selfless life, but there was, I didn't even have awareness of how I was living.
And it's just crazy to think about how tunnel visioned I was, and how much, , just understanding who God is. And reading his word has to grow just how I look at things and the great perspective it has on life and that. You always have something to be grateful for and to look forward to, and I think it doesn't matter what setbacks I have, , I felt like I was really blessed growing up before I knew Christ, , because of my positive attitude and my ability to just keep going.
And now I realize that is a gift from Him, and that it's because of Him, and He was the one that gave me that, and wants me to use that gift for good, there's so many things I could name. It's just like an overflowing cup of them all, isn't it?
It's awesome, yeah. You mentioned a lot of things like having hope and gratitude and, yeah, a full cup of things that you can talk about.
We haven't, we didn't get too much into your injuries and your trauma and your relationship struggles and family struggles. For anyone who's curious, there is a little bit more of that in the record article, which is online. But Lucy, you mentioned at the start of this episode that you have recently retired from soccer, which is huge.
, what's next for you? What does life look like going on from here?
Yeah, , it's been a big year. So February Trent and I got married and then we went on our honeymoon to Greece and Italy straight after. And then once we got back, , we bought a puppy, a cute little Aussie shepherd called Kobe.
And now we're waiting to deliver our baby in December. So we're actually having a little baby girl in December. So for now it's like. I'm just trying to get my body ready and get everything ready to go. And honestly, just, , understand what it's like to be a mom and to be a Christian mom as well.
So it's been so awesome, like learning about it and, , yeah, just really sinking into that next stage of life. So I think for now that will keep my hands full. And then after that, who knows, who knows.
No, it's so good. And if you want to check out the, full story from Lucy, , this is the record we've got Lucy on the cover for the what?
What issue july 29th. If you haven't seen it, go into your church foyer and see if you can find a copy., hey Lucy, we've run out of time, but we really appreciate you joining us and sharing some of your story. And I guess behind the story, a bit more insight.
I think the thing that I'll take away from this conversation is just the joy that the Christian life has given you, and I think a lot of our viewers, some of them might have been Adventist Christians for a long, long time, and it's nice to have that fresh, , excitement that you bring, , just to say, hey, This is a life transforming thing.
Sometimes those of us that have been around for a while, we forget how transforming the love of Christ is in our lives. So, Hey, we really thank you for sharing that with us and with the audience that it's going to, who knows where your story will go and what impact it will have on people.
So thank you so much for joining us today and we'll see everyone again π next week.
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