FAILURE A surprising percentage of every human life can be categorized by one courage-sapping word: failure. There really are no exceptions to this rule. That includes the men and women who are typically applauded every Sunday morning as “Bible heroes.” Scripture, in fact, seems to go out of its...
Perseverance
The Bigger Picture
THE BIGGER PICTURE Spring is now in full swing, which means that within a few months monarch butterflies will be visiting your garden. For a long time, these beautiful, fragile creatures were at the center of one of the great mysteries of science. Every fall, Midwesterners watch the monarchs...
The Race
THE RACE Defeat! He lay there silently, a tear dropped from his eye, ” There’s no sense running anymore- three strikes and I’m out- why try?” The will to rise has disappeared, all hope had fled away, so far behind, so error prone, closer all the way. “I’ve lost,...
The Fern and the Bamboo
THE FERN AND THE BAMBOO One day I decided to quit…I quit my job, my relationship, my spirituality…. I wanted to quit my life. I went to the woods to have one last talk with God. “God”, I said. “Can you give me one good reason not to quit?”...
The Winner
THE WINNER I was watching some little kids play soccer. These kids were only five or six years old, but they were playing a real game – – a serious game _ two teams, complete with coaches, uniforms, and parents. I didn’t know any of them, so I was...