Resilience
Scripture
The godly may trip seven times, but they will get up again.
~Proverbs 24:16, NLT
Quote
Our glory, such as it is, is not in perfection of which we are encapable but in our tenacity and resilience.
~Ya’akov
My Thoughts
I know most of you have heard the Mike Kolen story about recruiting and who to look for on the gridiron. Coach Jordan said to Mike, “You know the guy that keeps getting knocked down but keeps getting back up.” “Yeah, yeah, yeah” said Mike, “that is the guy we want.” No said the coach, “We want the one who keeps knocking him down.” Its a funny story but in reality, we get knocked down more than we knock down. We are going to fail. It doesn’t matter who you are, you are not above failure. Babe Ruth set a strike out record. As good as he was, he could not homer every time at the plate. The baseball analogy is the one that keeps me going: I know, no matter how hard I try, I am not going to get a hit everytime I walk into the pulpit. I don’t like striking out but it happens and when it happens you have to forget it and move on. Tim Keenum is a legend at Danville. Tim is known for his offense and he is a shooter. He has never seen a shot he didn’t like. Several years ago he got on to me for not shooting {gut and groan league} and I said, “Tim, I have missed my last three shots.” He said, “that is your problem, I never remember missing a shot.” In reality, he may miss a shot but he is not going to stop shooting. Thomas Edison missed 999 shots in a row but he didn’t stop shooting and we have the light bulb. Michael Jordan was 5’11” tall in the 10th grade and he didn’t make the varsity; he was put on the JV, but he didn’t quit. Failure is never final unless we quit.
You can’t get through this life without some bumps and bruises, without some flats or blowout: there are going to be some dismal failures and we will suffer the disappointment that goes with them, but that is no excuse to quit. We have a society filled with children [some are now adults] who were not raised by their biological parents and many of them are filled with resentment. They are angry and feel entitled. They are fully convinced that society is in their debt. They do not have the spirit of resilience. When they are hurt or disappointed, they don’t bounce back, instead they pout, complain about unfairness, feel sorry for themselves and make excuses. Michael Jordan didn’t blame the coach or the system; he didn’t whine or make excuses, he just set his mind to proving to them that they had made a mistake. The most resilent people I know have been hurt deeply but they did not give in to their pain and they bounced back.
Extra
Got more rain last night: up to 2.81 for the week. We got most of the concrete mixed, poured and finished yesterday. For some reason it was slow in drying and we finished it just before bed. It is hard work and I am glad it is over. David ran the machine, Buddy and Ty fed the machine, Jeremy drove the wheelbarrow and Keith and I finished. We did 30 80lbs sacks of quickcrete. You will get to see it at our November open house. I also got to do some burning last night but I am afraid the rain put my fire out.
Our sympathy goes out to two sweet ladies, Colleen mother passed and Dana’s father Doug Collins
Hope you have a great day and thanks for reading the blog.