Sixteen-year old Karissa Schlosser knew God had gifted her as a graceful ice-skater, but she struggled to understand why. Because of distance (most competitions are at least six hours away) Karissa wasn’t able to compete. She was frustrated with not being able to use her ability, until she discovered a way to use her skating talent to worship God.
“My purpose for being here is to skate to Christian music and glorify Him with that talent, even though I’m not competing and using His talent in the way most people would,” Karissa explains. “Maybe He put me here so that I could touch lives.”
God in the Music
Every March Karissa’s skating club hosts the Ice Show. The show has about 40 acts, and none featured Christian music. Enter Karissa. When she was 13, Karissa skated her first solo performance, which meant she got to pick her own music. Because the other acts skate to secular music, Karissa says there’s a real contrast when her song comes on. “It kind of shocks everyone, and a lot of people come up to me and say, ‘That was so refreshing. I was blessed to see that.’ ”
Karissa picks songs that openly talk about God. “I want everyone to know that it’s speaking straight about God or Jesus,” she says. Since she began skating a solo performance, Karissa has skated to Mercy Me’s “I Can Only Imagine,” Casting Crowns’ “Who Am I?” and “You Raise Me Up” by Josh Groban.
Her decision to skate to Christian music affects more than just her audience. Karissa explains how another girl in her skating club wanted to skate to Christian music but didn’t want to be the first one. Karissa was able to open the door for her teammate, giving her the confidence to pick a Christian song the next year.
A Real Challenge
Karissa’s bold decision to skate to Christian music has come with struggles. “I’ve been able to see the devil at work, trying to destroy my Ice Show program and hurt me in ways that would cause me not to skate,” she says. Last year Karissa had mono and struggled to maintain her level in order to skate in the Ice Show. Two weeks before the show she got an upper respiratory virus and could barely get out of bed for the mandatory morning practices. Karissa’s skating dress came back too small, requiring an adjustment minutes before she took to the ice.
Even with all this against her, Karissa trusted that the Lord had called her to be a light in her sport. She skated a perfect performance, which she hadn’t done once, even in practice! “It’s been a big place of spiritual growth to see that [spiritual warfare] and be like, This is real!” Karissa says.
Karissa’s been blessed to have a Christian coach who knows how to choreograph a performance that will glorify God. Karissa hopes to do the same thing as a coach one day. “I’d love to be a positive mentor and encourage people to keep perspective on life, along with skating,” she says.
