The Courage to Wait

In the summer of 2021, Simone Biles stood at the pinnacle of gymnastics — the most decorated gymnast in history, favored to dominate the Tokyo Olympics. Then she did something the world didn't expect. She withdrew. Mid-competition, she stepped back, acknowledging that her mind and body were not aligned, that pushing forward could be dangerous. The world debated. Critics called it quitting.

But Biles understood something most of us resist: sometimes the bravest thing you can do is wait.

For three years, she was patient. She didn't rush her return. She didn't let public pressure dictate her timeline. She trusted the slow, unglamorous process of healing — one day at a time. And in the summer of 2024, at the Paris Olympics, Biles returned at twenty-seven years old and won four medals, including three golds.

The writer of Hebrews tells us to "run with patience the race marked out for us." Notice the paradox — patience in a race. We want to sprint through every trial, push past every season of struggle. But the God who holds our future sometimes asks us to step off the platform, to wait on His timing rather than forcing our own.

Biles didn't quit in Tokyo. She planted a seed that bloomed in Paris. Whatever season of waiting you find yourself in, trust that the Almighty is not wasting your stillness. He is preparing your comeback.