Their moves are breathtaking, but they make them look so easy. The discipline required to make such artistry happen is rigorous, but they make it look like fun. Dazzled by the strength and grace professional skaters employ as they sail across the ice, few spectators ever see past the bright lights and colorful costumes to the tough touring schedules, painful injuries, and hectic, often lonely, lifestyles that accompany the world of professional figure skating. But the joy and pain of living a Christian life on ice are all too familiar to 1992 Olympic silver medalist and professional skater Paul Wylie.

As part of the Discover Card Stars on Ice, Wylie tours all over the world and seldom has time to spend at his Cambridge, Mass., home. With such a fast-paced lifestyle, it might be easy for some athletes to lose their balance, but just a few minutes into a conversation with Wylie, it's easy to see it is a deep faith in God that keeps this ice man centered.

A Texas native, Wylie began skating at age 3. "My older sisters were skating, and it was easier for my mom to baby-sit me and my Tonka trucks at the rink", Wylie says. "I won my first competition when I was 9. We moved to Colorado when I was 11, and that's when it all took off."

Since then Wylie's skating career has had its ups and downs. He has won numerous competitions and participated in the 1988 winter Olympics in Calgary, Alberta. But there were some performances between the 1988 and 1992 games that had others questioning whether he would have a chance to compete again in 1992 for Olympic gold.

After the 1988 Olympics Wylie enrolled at Harvard, where he majored in government. Skating and going to school was a tough combination. Wylie excelled in the Nationals in 1990, but then had problems at the World competition.

"The World competition came during mid-terms. I had too much going on and had a bad showing in 1990", he recalls.

Nevertheless, Wylie graduated Harvard in 1991 and, despite his inconsistent performances, made the Olympic team by one-tenth of a point.

"In 1992 I basically knew it was my last competition. A lot of people thought I didn't deserve to be there", Wylie admits. "But I earned my spot on the team and ended up winning the silver medal - and all the glory goes to God", Wylie says. "Some people thought it was impossible for me to win a medal. God wanted to show me that I could."

When asked what the experience taught him, Wylie responds, "I think God basically showed me that I had to take ownership through my faith and speak to Him daily. I had sort of secularized my skating, but God wanted me to enjoy what I was doing and revel in this gift He has given me, not to grit my teeth and treat it as an amusement park ride. I had to come to grips with the concept that skating is fun and people will pay money to do it, if they have the opportunity. That took it out of the realm of being a chore."

Wylie feels God gave him the freedom to rejoice in his gift and truly enjoy his skating. He hopes his performances provide audiences with enjoyment as well. He is known for his intense routines. He readily admits he has always had a flair for the dramatic and often visualizes scenes that help him convey the mood and atmosphere he's going for in his skating performance.

"I've always liked the dramatic style and enjoy performers, musicians, ballet dancers, and athletes who can make the hair stand up on my neck", he says. "I think that's just part of me. I tend to see myself more as an actor at times, especially now that I'm a professional. As an actor, entertainer, and skater, it's more fun to mature into that kind of artistry. That's what has kept me interested the last four years."

As much as he loves skating, Wylie admits the travel is hard, and he discusses it in a new book called Finding God at Harvard in which Harvard graduates talk about their lives and faith.

"Touring is difficult for me. I don't have a support group of Christians",he says. "It would definitely help to have the benefit of that fellowship."

Recently Wylie was able to find such fellowship in abundance on a trip to Israel with the Washington Arts Group, an association of Christian singers, musicians, and actors that participated with people from all over the globe in the World Prayer Congress. Among the people Wylie met were contemporary Christian recording artists Michael W. Smith and Amy Grant.

"I had no idea what it was going to be like, and it was such a blessing to go", Wylie enthuses. "There was a lot of great fellowship, and to see the different Christian artists express their beliefs and faith was really encouraging. I even hung out with Amy Grant and Michael W. Smith."

By talking with the Christian artists, Wylie found out their lives weren't that different from his.

"There is a real similarity in the kind of energy it takes to be a touring athlete and a touring musician," he says. "It's the same kind of fatigue."

"The road is a really tough place to live. And being a single Christian is pretty tough. I don't have a church to go to every Sunday, and I don't get a lot of dating opportunities. I'm very much in a secular environment, traveling among people who have different rules they abide by. It's a challenge, but there is a wonderful promise that at the end of that challenge God will fill the desires of my heart."

Wylie says the trip to Israel was filled with memorable moments - the fellowship with other Christians, being baptized in the Jordan, praying for hours at a time, singing and worshipping in some of Israel's churches, and just being where Jesus had walked. All these special moments added up to a very powerful experience.

"The first day I really found myself longing for God to do something in my life," Wylie says. "I felt really tired and empty and felt I really needed to dedicate myself. That was my goal for the trip, for God to breathe in me."

Wylie returned from his trip to Israel with a deeper understanding of his faith and the belief that he had been tremendously blessed by the fellowship and worship experiences. He admits that going back home and getting into to the old grind was rough. He had only four days before he had to leave on a working trip to Hawaii.

"We were doing shows in Honolulu and it was really hard to get back in the swing of things after having been deep in fellowship and then to be alone again," he recalls.

But his re-entry to the skating world was softened by some unexpected surprises.

"I found out that one of the women who tours with us made a commitment to Christ and a couple of members of the production crew had also made commitments," he says. "We went to church in Hawaii and got together as a group at night. I also had the opportunity to speak at the Youth for Christ outdoor camp in Hawaii. That was fun. I'm encouraged about what the next year is going to be like."

Wylie has been performing with Scott Hamilton, Kristi Yamaguchi, and others for four years as part of the Discover Card Stars on Ice. They usually do a 55-city tour in the winter months, in addition to several competitions and television events.

"We all kind of joke about our dysfunctional 'family,'" Wylie says. "For four months we're all either on a plane or bus or in a hotel or on the ice or in a restaurant. We just share the whole experience. It's a lot like my family growing up. We have moments of love, moments of fighting, as well as moments of jealousy and happiness. I'm not going to sugar-coat it by saying every day is sweet with everyone."

Wylie admits he's often "lonely for a stable place, the same place, lonely for a Bible study group that meets every Tuesday night, and for seeing the same friendly faces every Sunday at church."

When he's on the road, he tries to go to church in the city he's visiting, often pulling out the Yellow Pages. He also enjoys fellowshipping with other Christians whenever possible. Wylie says he realizes people around him who aren't Christians view him differently.

"I think they have higher expectations of me," he says. "I think if I fall they are disappointed. There's a part of them that wants to see somebody walk it out. It's a neat responsibility to have."

Wylie is 31 years old. When asked how much longer he plans to skate professionally, he replies, "I'm really seeking God on that right now. I was accepted at law school, and I've put that off, not knowing whether it was time to go yet. Scott Hamilton is 37, and he is still skating brilliantly. I had an injury this year, a groin pull, which has been a nagging problem all year long. It's the kind of telltale sign that skating is not going to last forever, but with a Harvard degree, I think there is a career for me outside of skating."

Even though he majored in government, Wylie says he'd never consider a political career. "I think I'm too sensitive," he says. "And if God grants me a wife and kids, I really wouldn't want to drag the family into it."

And Wylie very much wants a wife and children, but at the time of this interview, he wasn't seeing anyone steadily. "I tried to have a relationship the Olympic year, and it kind of blew up in my face. I've been hurt by that," he confesses."

"Dating is virtually impossible while traveling so much," and Wylie says he would really like to be in a relationship with a godly woman.

"I haven't had the opportunity to experience a group of Christian friends or fellowship with people my age," he says. "I tend to lose hope and feel like God isn't going to deliver on His promise and that I'm going to wind up empty-handed. When you start losing hope, all sorts of bad things start to happen. It's hard knowing that there is an incredible part of life waiting for me, but I'm not able to experience it right now."

When asked what kind of person he would like to spend the rest of his life with, Wylie responds, "I don't think one should set an agenda for God. I do want somebody who will share my life, have a good time with me, and make me laugh and smile. Obviously, you want a woman who will invest in you and your children and a woman you can share intelligent conversation with."

Wylie says he knows there are areas of his life where God is working on him and preparing him to be a husband.

"I need God to strengthen me in the area of investing in another person emotionally because I have had such a self-oriented life. I've learned how to take care of myself and be very independent, and I don't have that background of investing in another person in an emotional way," he says. "I think that's going to be hard. It's going to be something God is going to have to help me with, to get me to the point where I'm able to share my whole life with another person."

Wylie says his parents' 40-year marriage has been an inspiration. "It's a beautiful thing to see how strong their love is even now," he relates. "That's what I would hope for most - that God would spring a love in my heart because I think you have to love who you are and love God before you can love another person."

Wylie's advice to other single Christians is to hold on to hope and stay grounded in God's Word.

"We may be lonely and we may be out there. We may have lost hope, but the one thing God has left us is His Word, and you can benefit greatly by picking up the Bible and reading out loud. There's a real truth to it. It's an organic thing; those words are not like any other book. They actually live in your mind."

God has continually revealed His truth and His presence in Paul Wylie's life. When asked what he feels God tries to demonstrate through him and his life as a professional ice skater," Wylie warmly replies, "Grace, never-ending grace. And I'm not saying that He's showing grace just through my skating, but how He has dealt with me."

"You can come from nowhere in God's kingdom and He'll reach out and touch you and draw you to Him. That's what I carry with me - that I didn't really seek God out as much as He sought me, and that is a precious thing to me."