Age Often Doesn’t Matter

AGE OFTEN DOESN’T MATTER in athletics. It’s talent that shines through. That was certainly the case in 1978 when Brown University hosted the first international swimming meet held solely for women.

More than 100 swimmers representing the United States, Belgium, Canada, Great Britain, Italy, Norway, Sweden, the former West Germany, and the former Soviet Union converged in Providence, Rhode Island, for the history-making competition.

Tracy Caulkins, a 14-year-old from Nashville, Tennessee, dominated the field from the outset. On the first day, she broke the American record in the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:16.47. In the race, Caulkins edged out 13-year-old Soviet Julia Bogdanova, who had beaten her twice the previous summer. Later that same day, the Tennessee native broke another record in the 200-yard individual medley at 2:00.27.

But the teenage swimmer wasn’t finished. The following day, Caulkins set a new mark in the 400-yard medley, clocking in at 4:16.75. She also led the United States team to a gold medal in the 400-yard medley relay.

Only one event marred an otherwise perfect performance. In the 100-yard breaststroke, Caulkins placed second to Bogdanova at 1:04.46, compared to the Soviet swimmer’s 1:03.20.

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POINT Tracy Caulkins possessed athletic ability. She hoped to do well in the first international women’s swimming meet.

But hope wasn’t enough. Caulkins trained hard. She worked on the breaststroke, the freestyle, the butterfly, and the backstroke. She spent hours in the pool practicing turns, race starts, and proper stroke mechanics. All the while, she built her hope into confidence. She knew she had the potential to win. She knew she was ready. Then she made it happen.

Hope in the Bible isn’t merely wishful thinking. It doesn’t consist of hoping it will rain or hoping to do well. Instead, biblical hope carries the meaning of confident expectation. We can confidently count on that kind of hope.

That’s the hope we have in God, Creator of the universe. If he says it, he’ll make it happen. If he promises, he’ll keep the promise. From youth to old age, we can have absolute confidence if we put our hope in God.

GOAL! Count the number of times in a day that you say or hear the word hope. How was the word used? Praise God for his confident hope.