THE GOLDEN AGE
DAY 165: The Olympic games are heralded again and again as the inspiration of young new Olympians, who themselves remember watching the competitions on television, wanting to follow in the footsteps of the greats that came before them. As the Fab Five won gymnastics team gold at the 2012 games, all of the girls shared in an interview how they had seen the 1996 American women's team, the Magnificent Seven, do the unimaginable and win team gold. They were too young to see it live, but the brilliance of it translated even in replay. Then at 8 and 10 years old, they saw Carly Patterson, then Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin and they caught the vision.
In almost every sport I watched, the follow up interviews with the winners included their inspirations - other young athletes. To be sure, the Olympics is about youth. Teens and young adults in the peek of strength, accomplishing astounding physical feats while bringing the world together. But not every story is about youth. One captured my imagination because it was strength without youth.
On the night on the men's steel rings final, one athlete was markedly different in every way. His grey hair and calm demeanor was so unlike that of the anxious young men standing around him that at first I thought he must be a coach. When he was introduced as a competitor I was intrigued. The steel rings require more raw physical strength than any other gymnastic apparatus. Other than this gymnast's physique, it seemed improbably that this "old man" had beat out dozens of young men from around the world to earn a spot in the final. But there he was, 39 year old Jordan Jovtchev, from Bulgaria, the oldest man competing in gymnastics in the London Olympics... by far! These details about Jovtchev come from the online news service, The Inquisitr.com in an article by writer Levi Murphey.
Jovtchev reminds me that while youth has its advantages, age has its own rewards. No longer 22 myself, or even 39, I'm inspired by someone who sees its value and seizes the opportunities of a lifetime of experience. Our time is not past; it's just time to pass what we know. That is something youth doesn't have the capacity to do. Our proverb from today's Bible passages puts it succinctly:
"The glory of the young is their strength; the gray hair of experience is the splendor of the old." Proverbs 20:29
Thanks to my hair stylist, I will never actually display that gray, but I can display the splendor of experience when I see and seize opportunities to invest that experience in ways that matter in the lives of others.That kind of living is golden!
Ezra 7
Ezra 8:1-20
1 Corinthians 4
Psalm 30:1-12
Proverbs 20:28-30
In almost every sport I watched, the follow up interviews with the winners included their inspirations - other young athletes. To be sure, the Olympics is about youth. Teens and young adults in the peek of strength, accomplishing astounding physical feats while bringing the world together. But not every story is about youth. One captured my imagination because it was strength without youth.
On the night on the men's steel rings final, one athlete was markedly different in every way. His grey hair and calm demeanor was so unlike that of the anxious young men standing around him that at first I thought he must be a coach. When he was introduced as a competitor I was intrigued. The steel rings require more raw physical strength than any other gymnastic apparatus. Other than this gymnast's physique, it seemed improbably that this "old man" had beat out dozens of young men from around the world to earn a spot in the final. But there he was, 39 year old Jordan Jovtchev, from Bulgaria, the oldest man competing in gymnastics in the London Olympics... by far! These details about Jovtchev come from the online news service, The Inquisitr.com in an article by writer Levi Murphey.
"Jovtchev, competing in his sixth Olympics, will attempt to take home his fifth Olympic medal in an event he didn’t even think he would qualify for. In a sport of young gymnasts, the Bulgarian gymnast’s gray hair is sure to stand out, and when he took his final bow after his stint on the rings Saturday(in the qualifying round), he was barely able to lift his hurting arms to wave and salute the cheering crowd. He then sat down to rest, thinking that he had performed his last round at the Olympics, reports the Globe and Mail.
"Jordan Jovtchev was stunned 20 minutes later, as the scoreboard showed his name as a finalist, meaning he will perform one last time. For a man who is competing with a partially torn bicep, as well as a “half-way broken wrist,” it is no wonder he seemed so shocked at the results, which showed he squeezed into the final by a mere 0.08 of a point.
"But considering Jovtchev’s other job is the president of the Bulgarian gymnastics federation, his retirement means he will still stay close to the sport he loves. He also hopes that his longevity in gymnastics will inspire other gymnasts to follow in his footsteps. The 39-year-old rings finalist said:
Link to The Inquisitr original story
“'By me being here I’m getting support for the next generation. We’re building a new gym as government is helping us now. We don’t have anybody else making a name yet. We have good kids but they are 12, 13. It’s an inspiration for the young guys to see me hanging around. Hopefully eventually they will make a name.'"Youth is inspiring, no doubt; but it can't compare to the wisdom, strength and sacrifices this one man is making so that the youth of his country will have a chance to shine. In his case, everything that glitters in not gold. A 22 year old Brazilian may have gotten the coveted medal, but it was this 39 year old Bulgarian whose mettle really shined.
Jovtchev reminds me that while youth has its advantages, age has its own rewards. No longer 22 myself, or even 39, I'm inspired by someone who sees its value and seizes the opportunities of a lifetime of experience. Our time is not past; it's just time to pass what we know. That is something youth doesn't have the capacity to do. Our proverb from today's Bible passages puts it succinctly:
"The glory of the young is their strength; the gray hair of experience is the splendor of the old." Proverbs 20:29
Thanks to my hair stylist, I will never actually display that gray, but I can display the splendor of experience when I see and seize opportunities to invest that experience in ways that matter in the lives of others.That kind of living is golden!
Ezra 7
Ezra 8:1-20
1 Corinthians 4
Psalm 30:1-12
Proverbs 20:28-30
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