This week's 'thought'
comes to you from a book entitled, "Finish Strong"
by Dan Green.It is a book of true stories about people who have overcome immense obstacles, through faith, and have "finished strong." I found this entry particularly inspiring. I offer it to you with the hope that it might inspire you in the same way. Enjoy.
A Spirit Forged in Steel
"On June 23, 1940, Wilma Glodean Rudolph was born prematurely,
weighing only four and a half pounds. Wilma was the twentieth of Ed
and Blanche Rudolph's twenty-two children. The Rudolph's were African Americans
living in a time of segregation. Since the local hospital was for whites only,
and since the Rudolph's had little money, Mrs. Rudolph was forced to care for
Wilma herself. The early years were rough. Wilma's mother nursed her through
one illness after another -- measles, mumps, scarlet fever, chicken pox, and
double pneumonia.
A few years after Wilma's birth, her parents discovered that her left
leg and foot were not developing normally and, consequently, were becoming
deformed. Doctors told Blanche that Wilma had polio, and that she would have to
wear steel braces on her legs. Refusing to accept this diagnosis, Mrs. Rudolph
set out to find a cure. She discovered that Wilma could receive treatment at
Meharry Hospital in Nashville.
The Rudolphs also relied on their faith in God, the Great
Physician. When young Wilma would ask if she would ever walk, her parents
pointed her to her good God: "Honey, you only have to believe. You have to
trust in God because with God all things are possible" (Luke 1:37).
For the next two years, Mrs. Rudolph drove Wilma fifty miles each way to
physical therapy appointments. Eventually, the hospital staff taught Mrs.
Rudolph how to do the exercises at home. Everyone in the family worked with
Wilma, providing her with encouragement to be strong and get better. Thanks to
the patience, support, effort, and the love she received from her family,
at the age of twelve Wilma could walk normally without the assistance of
crutches, braces, or corrective shoes.
Having spent a great deal of her life limited by illnesses, Wilma felt a
freedom she had never felt before. It was then that Wilma decided to become an
athlete. She chose to pursue basketball first, just as her older sister
had. For three years she rode the bench, not playing in a single game.
But Wilma's spirit had been forged of steel, and she continued to practice
hard, refusing to give up. In her sophomore year she became the starting
guard for the team and subsequently led the team to a state championship.
But Wilma's first love was running. At the age of sixteen (barely four
years free of braces) Wilma participated in track at the 1956 Olympics and won
a bronze medal in the 4 x 100 meter relay. However, it was at the state
basketball tournament that she was first spotted by Ed Temple, the coach for
the women's track team at Tennessee State University. Ed recruited Wilma on a
track scholarship and changed the course of her athletic pursuits.
Wilma's most famous athletic accomplishments happened during the 1960
Olympic Games in Rome. The little girl who could hardly walk without the
assistance of crutches or braces had completely overcome her physical
limitations. At the age of 20, she became the first American woman to win three
gold medals in a single Olympics. (The 100 meter dash in 11.0 seconds, the
200 meter dash in 24.0 seconds, and the 4 x 100 Relay in 44.5 seconds.)"
Sometimes it helps us in our own struggles to hear the stories
of people who had to endure great hardships and overcome great obstacles,
by faith, and with the inner strength and determination God
provides. Many times we become too quickly discouraged. We give up too
easily. We don't persevere and fight on until victory comes.
A high school student in Honduras once said the following
quotes inspired him. I do not know his name, but I'm sure he has
pressed on! The first, by Don Juan, states: "The basic difference
between an ordinary man and a warrior is that a warrior takes everything
as a challenge, while the ordinary man takes everything as either a
blessing or a curse."
The second, by Ralph Parlette, says: "Strength and struggle
go together. The supreme reward of struggle is strength. Life is a battle
and the greatest joy is to overcome. The pursuit of easy things make men weak.
It is following the lines of least resistance that makes rivers and men
crooked."
In the Christian life it's not about pulling ourselves up by our
bootstraps. It's about looking in faith to 'God our Helper'
(Psalm 118:7) for that which is necessary to overcome the many obstacles in
life. Sometimes He graciously does miraculous things for us.
But more often what He gives us is increased strength and resolve
and determination to press on. After all, were He to
do everything for us all the time, He would do us a great
disservice by robbing us of the life lessons learned through perseverance,
struggle and hardships overcome.
Blessings upon your day, Pastor Jeff
