The Vault She Didn't Take

In the summer of 2021, the world watched Simone Biles — the most decorated gymnast in history — walk away from the Olympic team final in Tokyo. She had developed what gymnasts call "the twisties," a terrifying condition where the body loses its sense of position mid-air. For an athlete who routinely launches herself fifteen feet above the ground, it was not just a mental block. It was a matter of survival.

The critics were merciless. Some called her weak. Others said she had quit on her team. For three years, nobody knew if she would ever compete again.

Then came Paris, 2024. At thirty-two years old — ancient by gymnastics standards — Biles stepped back onto the Olympic floor. She did not just return. She soared. Three gold medals and a silver. The greatest comeback the sport had ever seen.

But here is what struck me most: she came back different. Not diminished, not merely surviving — but deeper, steadier, more complete than the younger version of herself could have been.

This is how the God of All Restoration works. He does not simply rewind us to who we were before the breaking. He rebuilds us into something the breaking itself made possible. As the prophet Joel promised, "I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten." Not the same years. Better ones. Ones that carry the weight and wisdom only a comeback can teach.

Whatever your Tokyo moment has been, the vault is not over.