After the Gold, Then What?

  Even if you aren’t a sports enthusiast, there is something captivating about watching world-class athletes at the Olympics do things that are impossible for the average person. It is also interesting to learn the personal stories about the competitors. I have noticed at least one thing that all those stories have in common. From a very young age, the competitors exerted enormous effort to excel at their sport, and they had one ultimate goal in mind—to someday win a gold medal at the Olympics.

   In light of the many years that they dreamed about winning a gold medal, we can appreciate the emotions athletes display while they are standing on the podium, decked with the gold medal, while their country’s national anthem is played.

   What we don’t often think about is what comes next in the life of the athlete? Those that are able, look forward to coming back in four years and winning another medal, but at some point that is no longer possible. Every athlete must face this reality: after the gold, then what?

   An example of a world-class athlete that had to face that question is Chris Evert. She is a former number one world champion American professional tennis player. She won 18 Grand Slam singles championships and three doubles titles and holds a record 90% career winning percentage. In 1995 she was elected to the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

   After all the winning and all the trophies were finished her life felt empty. In an October 1990 issue of Good Housekeeping, retired tennis star Chris Evert said, “I had no idea who I was, or what I could be away from tennis.” As she recalled the final years of her career, Ms. Evert went on to say, “I was depressed and afraid because so much of my life had been defined by my being a tennis champion. I was completely lost. Winning made me feel like I was somebody. It made me feel pretty. It was like being hooked on a drug. I needed the wins, the applause, in order to have an identity.”

   That reminds me of what Jack Higgens, the author of The Eagle Has Landed and several other successful novels, said when asked what he would like to have known as a boy. His answer: “That when you get to the top, there’s nothing there.”

   Life, though, doesn’t have to be hollow and empty. The One who made us has shown us where we can find true meaning and purpose in our everyday lives.

   Here is the secret of a truly satisfied life. You and I are alive so we can have a relationship with the One who made us. That is why you and I exist. We know this is true because the Bible tells us that God make the human race so “that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His children’ ” (Acts 17:27–28).

   God’s invitation to us is “Seek My face,” and we should respond by saying, “Your face, O Lord, I shall seek” (Psalm 27:8). When we commit our lives to following Jesus, then the ups and downs of life will not take away the satisfaction we find in Christ. The Apostle Paul, who endured a lot of hardship said, “… I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am” (Philippians 4:11).

   It is unlikely that any of us will ever win a gold medal at the Olympics, but we can find a deep peace and satisfaction apart from anything this world has to offer.

   I enjoyed reading an article about David Boudia and Steele Johnson, Olympic divers who won medals, and yet whose lives are firmly rooted in their identities as followers of Jesus. Boudia’s words show that his life is grounded in the good news of the gospel: “When my mind is on