Jennie Finch Daigle: ‘Faith has played major role in who I am’
Published 8:38 am Saturday, January 7, 2023
- Diesel, Jennie, Casey, Paisley and Ace Daigle and their dogs Sweet Billy and Sir Frankie. (Special to the American Press)
She struck out former Major League Baseball stars during the “Jennie Challenge” as the co-host of This Week in Baseball. Daigle appeared in Pros vs Joes on Spike TV, The Real Housewives of Orange County, The Celebrity Apprentice and made guest appearances on the David Letterman and Jimmy Kimmel shows. She’s the author of ‘Throw Like a Girl: How to Dream Big & Believe.” People Magazine named her as one of its “50 Most Beautiful People.”
She has used her fame as a platform to be a role model for women in sports and through it all she’s never been ashamed of the gospel. In 2010 she retired to focus on family. On the jenniefinch.com site, it lists a few factoids about her life. Her favorite thing to do is spending time outdoors with family. One of the three people she would love to have dinner with is Jesus.
“My faith, it’s played a major role in who I am and what I believe,” Daigle said.
Raised in a Christian home, the woman who can throw a softball 70 miles per hour became emotional while recalling her late grandmother’s prayers.
“She was a real prayer warrior, and would cover me in prayer, sometimes over the phone. She kept a picture of me in her Bible. As a child I remember how she and my grandfather would get up in the morning, read their Bible and devotion and then pray aloud together. After my grandfather passed – and they had been married 60-plus years – I saw her faith demonstrated in how she fulfilled her purpose with service and how God was so faithful to give her the strength she needed to sustain her. Because of her faith, she was a real example to me.”
Daigle participates in Bible Study Fellowship, which is a way for women to study the Bible in depth.
“I’m so thankful to be surrounded by women of faith,” she said.
Jennie Finch Daigle is also real. She acknowledged there have been times, especially when practicing 12 hours a day for the Olympics, that softball, not faith, was preeminent.
“Life with its busy-ness, its many tasks and goals can mean we lose focus on priorities,” she said. She hinted that even with a solid Christian foundation, life can throw some unexpected pitches. The Christian walk can sometimes be through the valley.
The Southern California native knew she would never get her Vinton-born husband to move there, and now Southwest Louisiana is home, and she’s glad about it. The couple own and operate Diamond D, a local highline clearing and access business that allows them to not only provide job opportunities but build relationships, she said.
“It’s been truly incredible to see the Lord’s hand in our lives, in our business and how he led us to this place. To raise a family in Southwest Louisiana where faith, community and service is a priority is a blessing. I am grateful to be able to raise my children in such a beautiful place.”
When she was still a youngster, her dad told her just how easy it is to “get lost and forget who you are.”
“It’s important to remember our purpose,” she said. “Daily I ask, what do you have in store for me today, Lord? I don’t want to miss it.”
