Olympian Gold medalist Shawn Johnson East is sending people on a treasure hunt — not for gold or wealth, but for the calling and gifts that God has placed in people’s lives.
“… I would say God has placed hidden treasures in every one of our hearts, and all of our treasures are different,” the former gymnast said. “Like my treasures are different than from my daughter’s, from my son, my other son, but it’s the adventure of life to try to find them.”
As with finding any treasure, East encourages her viewers to “do everything in your power to protect it.”
The mom of three passes on this wisdom to her children — Drew, 6, Jett, 5 and Barrett “Bear” 2 — as they start to grow to an age where they are discovering their interests.
“…I had a conversation with my daughter once where she was like, ‘What if I don’t do gymnastics?’” East recalled. “And I was like, ‘That’s mommy’s treasure. That doesn’t have to be yours. You will find a treasure, and it will light you up, and it should be different than everyone else’s.’”
Related: Shawn Johnson East Teaches Daughter ‘God Made Her on Purpose’
The Iowa native says part of protecting one’s God-given gifts is not to get caught up on titles or comparison.
“[T]he world will try to take your treasure from you, or say it’s not worth value, or say it’s not a good enough title…” East said. “And it’s your challenge in life to protect it.”
While it’s too soon to tell if any of her children will follow in their mom’s footsteps to Olympic gold or go the football route like their father, Andrew, the Easts are exposing their children to as many interests as possible.
“Andrew will pull up YouTube clips. We’ll look at every sport, we’ll look at every hobby, we’ll look at piano and crafts and baking and cooking and science experiments, just to see if something catches our kids’ interest,” East told E! News. “And from the time our 4-year-old [Jett] was, like, 1, anything with two wheels lit him up.”
“The kids are incredible. It’s so fun to see who they are becoming,” the 34-year old told PEOPLE. “Our daughter is an amazing artist and fashion designer, and the boys are as wild as they come. Jett loves motocross, and Bear is fiercely independent. Every time you turn around, he’s disappeared.”
Whatever dreams the East children follow, it is for certain that their parents will instill in them the value of humility and hard work as they have learned from both their athletic careers.
“You have to work through monotony and through pain and through challenges,” East said. “And if you do, you will reap a reward and a joy and a fulfillment that you can’t find anywhere else.”
READ MORE: ‘Greatest Time of My Life’: Shawn Johnson and Husband Andrew East Talk Parenting
Read Next: ‘Greatest Time of My Life’: Shawn Johnson and Husband Andrew East Talk Parenting
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