West Ridge's Fallon Taylor physically slowed, but spiritually soaring

Lady Wolves' basketball player reached into the Psalms for inspiration

West Ridge’s Fallon Taylor, right, poses with the niece (Ryleigh) of Lady Wolves’ head coach Kristi Walling.

When she was knocked down, Fallon Taylor looked up.

The West Ridge junior saw her season come to an early end when she suffered a knee injury on Dec. 9. But it didn’t take long for her to cling to the rock.

She expressed her faith through a verse from the Old Testament.

“God has a plan for me, and I will rejoice in Him. Psalm 30” Taylor posted on X shortly after learning she had suffered a torn ACL.

Taylor said that chapter resonated with her heart.

“It just stuck out to me because in that verse it tells you to just lean on God even when you’re going through a lot, and to always trust Him,” Taylor said. “And to give thanks whenever you’re going through hard things.”

Taylor said she had an idea what she was facing because of seeing teammates go through the same injury. But the last month has still been challenging.

“It didn’t really register that it would be this tough, but now that I’ve had surgery and I’m on the recovery process, I take it day by day and trust God,” she said. “It gets easier every day.”

One of the blessings Taylor said she has received through the adversity is a growing faith.

“It has definitely gotten stronger because I have to lean on Him when this is a really tough situation in my life,” she said. “I look at Psalm 30:5 and it says,“For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.”

“That’s what I lean on because I know to trust Him and things will get better as it goes.”

A strong family of faith has played a key role in helping Taylor meet this challenge.

“I’ve been in church my whole life,” said Taylor, who attends Grace Point Fellowship in Colonial Heights and regularly participates in Sunday school. “My dad has been a big support system. He has really been the one to lead me to faith in my life. He has always been a big example to me, led me to read my Bible and do devotions every day. He has helped me a lot.”

Although it’s a significantly long road ahead, Taylor said her horizontal hope is finding a way to get a basketball in her hands again.

“My big concern right now is therapy and getting back to moving normal, and getting as close as I can to getting back on the court,” Taylor said. “It puts a fire in my gut to just get back on the court. That’s what my main goal is because I don’t play any other sports. I’ve played basketball my entire life.”

But Taylor isn’t thinking only about herself. She remains a strong supporter of her Lady Wolves’ teammates as they try to make the most of the 2023-24 season.

“I will always have strong relationships and friendships with my teammates,” Taylor said. “I’m always going to be there to support them. They’re doing really well and adjusting to me not being on the court with them.”

As for the vertical view of the future, Taylor seems to have a good grasp on it.

“God is definitely working in my life,” she said. “I trust Him and will always trust Him. I understand that whatever He has planned for me, I will trust that and lean on Him in everything I do.”