Altar Call – Opelika-Auburn News
Walter Albritton
October 7, 2007
Perseverance
required for the difficult journey called life
No matter which path you choose, life is tough. There are obstacles on every road. Sooner or later the difficult journey we call life will demand perseverance from every traveler.
The people who succeed in life are those who learn to “stay with the program.” Those who fail make a habit of starting something and quitting. Quitters never win. Winners keep getting up after being knocked down, again and again. They are the people we all admire – those who refuse to quit the race no matter how many times they fall.
This was brought home to me by my
friend Dan Morris, a pastor in
My research confirmed that the feat by
Rodgers was indeed a marvelous example of perseverance. Rodgers’ goal was to
make the coast to coast flight in less than 30 days so he could claim the
$50,000 prize offered by William Randolph Hearst. He missed his goal by 19 days
but his perseverance made him an American hero. He survived crashing his plane
39 times! Each time a ground crew rebuilt the plane. When he finally landed in
Rodgers kept going despite severe injuries suffered in crashing his plane, the “Vin Fiz.” (He named his plane after a grape drink made by the company that sponsored his flight.) Even though Rodgers was thrown from the “Vin Fiz” 15 times in crash landings, broke both legs, an ankle, a collarbone, and cracked several ribs, he refused to quit. He persevered to the end.
A sad footnote to this story is that
less than a year later Rodgers died in a freak accident. While making a test
flight in
Most of us will not attempt such daring feats during our lives. Nevertheless our success will depend upon our willingness to persevere in spite of the barriers we must hurdle. The perseverance required of us is not a moment of miraculous courage but daily stepping up to the plate and doing the right thing over and over again.
Along the way all of us are tempted to give up. The price may seem too high to pay. We see others cheat and get away with it. They manage to have things we want so we begin questioning our decision to always do the right thing. Maybe cheating does not matter as much as we once thought. Others get away with it so why not join them.
The problem is that every morning you have to deal with that fellow looking back at you in the mirror. He keeps gently nudging you to never give up doing the right thing. That man in the mirror can help you stay on the right track if you will listen. An unseen Person is coaching him to help you stay on the straight and narrow.
My friend Dan Morris nails it when he says that what we all need is “a holy toughness that God hammers into the soul.” If we allow God to use his hammer on us, somehow we will be able to persevere when the going gets rough. And at the end of this journey called life, we will have the enduring joy of winners instead of the awful pain of losers. + + +
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