Quote

"Cherish every season in life; for without coldness, there is no comfort in warmth, and without darker days, there is no joy in light."

- Wes Fesler

Real Life

Australian swimmer, Cate Campbell, attended her first Olympics as a 16-year-old. She went on to compete in four Olympic games, winning eight Olympic medals, four of them gold. On top of that there were numerous Commonwealth, Pan Pacific and World Cup medals.

However, at the 2016 Rio Olympics when Campbell was the favourite in the 100m Women’s freestyle event, it didn’t all go according to plan. She broke the Olympic record in her heat and again in her semi-final however, in the final she faded significantly to finish 6^th. She was devastated. Campbell chose to take 2017 off from competitive swimming to recover from the disappointment. 2018 went on to become a stellar year for her.

In 2024 at the age of 32, Campbell retired from swimming. She has since talked about how she is seeing what her body naturally looks like for the first time since she was a child. Campbell says that she is learning to accept her body as it becomes less muscled and she embraces the new season she is in.

When we love our sport we naturally want to be great at it all of the time but the human body and mind does not and cannot perform like that. Even with Campbell’s phenomenal talent and discipline, she had highs and lows, peaks and troughs. Campbell learnt that this was a part of sport and chose to give herself time and space to process those hard times and listen to what she felt she needed.

The bible talks about how birds know what is required of them in different seasons and how we too should recognise what we need to do in different times of our life (Jeremiah 8:7). The important thing is to be prepared to listen, learn and respond, as we experience the ups and downs of life and sport.

Bible Verse

Even the stork in the sky knows her appointed seasons, and the dove, the swift and the thrush observe the time of their migration. 

Jeremiah 8:7

Prayer

Lord thank You for the many experiences of life and sport. Thank You that I know You are beside me in all of it. Help me to listen to Your voice and be wise in the choices I make throughout the different seasons.

Author: Sarah Auld   |   Content Editor: Phil Pawley