Suzie Ward walked onto the catwalk and won the Young Model of the Year Competition.

But that was impossible. Just a few minutes before the competition choreographer had refused to teach her the routines for the competition.

Why? Because Suzie Ward was a Seventh-day Adventist. The Young Model of the Year Competition was held on Saturday night. That was after Sabbath, so Suzie had no problems entering the competition. Indeed, she had been training for it for 12 months. But she did have one other big problem.

While the competition itself was after sunset, practice for the competition was all day Saturday. For Suzie, that was not on. She would not break the Sabbath -- even to advance her modelling career.

Instead, while the other models practised all morning, she worshipped at her local church in Brisbane, Australia. Then while the other models practised all afternoon, she spent her Sabbath time with family and friends from church.

All day the other models practised and learnt the routines. All day Suzie kept the Sabbath.

Prayer to close Sabbath

Near sunset, she and her sister drove to the major city hotel where the competition was staged. The two young women found a quiet spot where they prayed together to close Sabbath.

Then Suzie walked into the competition room to find out the routines. But the choreographer said, "If you couldn't bother being here today, I couldn't bother telling you the routines."

Suzie Ward was 16 at the time and would go on to a full-time career in modelling. She was stunningly beautiful, as most models are. But she was different. She was one of God's personal friends.

Jesus had said, "You are my friends if you do what I command you" -- John 15:14. And since Suzie did what he commanded, she was his friend.

Opposition from teachers

Despite being a personal friend of God, Suzie had a lot of opposition at her Adventist high school. Some teachers didn't think that Adventists should be models, so they made life difficult for her. It seems it didn't occur to them that God might want an Adventist to spread her godly influence in that often-ungodly industry.

The fact that there was a model who upheld religious principles, the fact that there was a model who didn't sleep around, the fact that there was a model who refused to wear skimpy clothes... these facts were a significant influence in the modelling industry. But her teachers couldn't see it and opposed her.

Some of the students opposed her too. Not just because she was beautiful. But because she followed the Bible's guidelines on how people should behave before marriage. Girls who slept around were jealous that she could succeed as a model without doing what they were doing.

Sometimes opposition from friends and church members seems the hardest to take. The people who should support you are the people who oppose you. But maybe that is a good thing. It teaches you to rely on God, rather than to rely on friends.

Surprising career move

Later, as Suzie's full-time modelling career was heading for its peak, she made a surprising career move. She volunteered to do a year's overseas missionary work for the Adventist Church.

She was made an assistant dean of women at Newbold in England. Somehow they made a mistake about her age and gave her a job designed for a much older woman. When she arrived in England, the adminstrators were surprised she was so young. However, she tried to hide her age from the students and she did the job so well that the adminstration asked her to come back for another year. But only one year was in her plan and she returned to Australia.

While her year's missionary work may seem a surprising career move to some, it was not to those who knew her well. God was always Suzie's career. He was always her Number One priority. And if she felt God wanted her to do missionary work, she would gladly put her modelling career aside.

Yes, God was her Number One priority -- but this priority was tested to the limit at the Young Model of the Year finals. When the choreographer refused to tell her the routines, it appeared she was finished.

But God had other plans. He usually does.

Other models in the competition showed Suzie the routine. She didn't have much time to practise it. But at least she knew what to do. Now it was up to God to get her through against models who had practised all day.

Suzie walked onto the catwalk and with God's help she won.

But without practise, that was impossible.

Or was it?

"With God, all things are possible" -- Matthew 19:26.