The Power of Adversity

I’m taking a little “Nana” moment to celebrate my grandson’s winning 1st Place in his Original Oratory Speech at the NCFCA National Championships this weekend. Out of 1000s of students from 45 states, competing in 65 preliminary tournaments, 500 students made it to Nationals. Payton's win is truly a tribute to his diligence, hard work, and relentless attitude. The win comes with scholarships offered and afforded him the opportunity to deliver the speech after the competition to over 1,500 people. I was blessed to be able to watch it LIVE, thanks to technology! I am always a proud Nana of my grandchildren, and this just added another notch on my “pride and joy” belt. Beyond the pride, however, was the speech he gave that truly described his own story of overcoming adversity and helping others to realize that adversity can be a friend to those who recognize God’s way of building our character and our ability to overcome and come out as a conqueror.

“The Power of Adversity” was the topic of this speech. In it, Payton talked about the tension and adversity that we encounter and the more we experience, the better the trajectory of the potential of success in our future. He used the analogy of his Toys R Us bow and suction-cup arrow, as a child, which did well to kill his “refrigerator bad guy”, but it paled in comparison to the real bow and arrow that his dad bought him, set the tension to Payton’s ability and he soon learned this arrow could fly three times further because of that tension.

He went on to point out world changers and history makers like Thomas Edison whose teachers said he was too stupid to learn anything. And, Abraham Lincoln who failed in business, marriage, politics and suffered the loss of his two sons before becoming the President of the United States. Every adversity these leaders experienced increased their patience, their knowledge and their ability to create history. Payton quoted Walt Disney “All the adversity I've had in my life, all my troubles and obstacles, have strengthened me. You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you.”

Payton went into his own story of adversity. In the same year: his Papa died from cancer, his dog died, and he was being bullied at school. He said, as he pointed out his thin body, “I’m not the most athletic kid but I sure wanted to play football and fit in with the other guys.” Instead of helping him, they bullied him and the abuse only got worse and the verbal hatred got louder. The words spoken over him replayed like a broken record in his mind – “too skinny, you’ll never amount to anything, you’ll never be good at anything”. With many hilarious, self-deprecating moments throughout his speech, his message was clear: "When adversity comes, like the storm that came up while Jesus was asleep in the back of the boat, let it be that storm that takes you to the other side”.

Payton’s speech resonated with me too. We all have defining moments that either make or break us. Whatever those moments are, God will use them for our good. Our destiny and purpose are wrapped up in each and every adversity that comes our way. It's that "stuff" that causes the aha moments -- those moments that seemed like the worst of worst times but were actually the turbo boost to propel us to where we were meant to be. The times of adversity either make us stronger and cause us to have the "warrior mentality" or we succumb to the pressure and throw in the towel and have the "pull-the-blanket-over-the-head mentality". One makes us stronger and leads to success and the other causes us to quit and leads to failure stories. They're either stories that said "I pushed through to victory" or "I gave up and quit. IF ONLY....I had persisted." From Abraham Lincoln to Thomas Edison to Payton Wallace, great leaders and achievers push themselves beyond the point of failure and take a step back to re-evaluate why they started the journey in the first place. Even when their body or mind told them to quit, they dug deep and pushed through the adversity.

My parting paragraph is Payton’s final words from his speech. I pray these words to speak to your heart:

“I don’t know what you’re going through today. Maybe you’re facing financial adversity, a broken relationship, or even if you’re just like me….you look in the mirror and you feel inferior and worthless. Jesus is in the back of the boat with you. He has a way of using every adversity and every difficulty to propel you to the other side of your breakthrough. Now, personally, I’ve grown to fight greater enemies than my refrigerator and I know that God uses every adversity in my life to prepare me and propel me to become a leader worth following. The same is true for each and every one of you. Adversity is not your enemy. Tension is not your foe. Instead, embrace it. Peace isn’t the absence of adversity. Peace is the confidence in knowing that all things – even the seemingly worst things -- work together for good when you put your faith and trust in God.”

You've Come a Long Way, Baby!

Have you thought about how far you’ve come in life? You’ve acquired abilities you never thought possible. You dreamed of driving a car and the day came when you earned your driver’s license and now you’ve been driving for years. You dreamed of one day getting married and having children. That day came and now you’re raising your children and, quite frankly, you’re doing a great job at it. You dreamed of the day when you’d have a job that paid you well for your hard work. You put that dreaming to work as you earned a college degree or you learned a skill or you gained on-the-job, hands-on experience that opened up even more doors for your next position.

Think back to where you started. Maybe it was that newspaper route that taught you the discipline of getting up early and the responsibility to be on time and throw it just in the right place on the driveway. Maybe it was that waitress job that taught you patience and diligence? Maybe those school sports gave you the start you needed to be the team player with sportsmanship and comradery that you have with your friends and fellow employees today.

Thomas Edison said "I never did anything worth doing by accident, nor did any of my inventions come by accident, they came by work." He was known for an unfailing work ethic. He never shirked from mundane tasks because he always found there was something he could learn even while working in a telegraph office.

Think about Jesus Christ – the skills, the abilities, and the leadership qualities He had when He showed up on the scene at age 30. He must have acquired so many of His characteristics from the training He received from his dad and mom while working in the family carpentry business and from the tough times when his dad, Joseph, passed away and He had to step up and help earn income for He and His mother. Also, think about His childhood, youth, and manhood, when He studied the Scriptures. As a little child He was daily at His mother’s knee taught from the scrolls of the prophets. Here is what was said of Him: “And He grew in wisdom, stature and favor with God and Man.” Luke 2:52.

Like Edison, if we keep working at that "thing", that invention, that creative idea or project – we’ll land right where God planned for us. Like our Lord Jesus Christ, if we keep diligently pursuing God and becoming who He destined us to be, we'll also hear those words “And he/she grew in wisdom, stature and favor with God and man.” I don't know about you, but I see my life's timeline and I see God's Master Plan that landed me right where I am here today. He's been with me all the way. I can assure you “I’ve come a long way, Baby!" How about you? We're still here so we're not done with choosing to continue to grow, learn and finish strong!”

What is Your Little Light Shining?

Day 193 of Photo Inspirations -- What is Your Little Light Shining?
At my Life Group this week, we were discussing "letting our lights shine", when one of our gals mentioned that she had taken a course in college called "The Study of Lasers".  She went on to tell us that light travels in straight lines.  A laser produces light, but unless the laser light bounces off of something, you cannot see it.  The beam is invisible in normal air.  However, you can see the beam if there is something in the air, like smoke, that the light can bounce off of.  It takes time for our brains to understand what our eyes see.  Because of that, a fast moving laser beam spot will not look like a spot at all, but like a line of light.  That's AMAZING!

We had just talked about lighting a candle to dispel the darkness in our world.  Then she said, "There's a lot of difference between candlelight and laser light, and there are a lot of different lights in between:  incandescent, flourescent, halogen, LED.  She said, "Singing 'This little light of mine, I'm gonna' let it shine' sure takes on a whole new meaning with those thoughts.  Right?"

Different light sources have different purposes.  A soft candlelight brings calmness and sweet ambience to a room.  An incandescent light bulb is what Thomas Edison invented.  An electric current passes through the filament in the bulb, heating it to a temperature that produces light.  And, it can be dimmed or made brighter.  Then there's the flourescent light that gives a flat, cold light, often bluish and harsh. It is a daylight-equivalent and cannot be put on a dimmer. Then there are the LED -- Flood or Spotlights.  Those are the lights that cities are brilliantly lit up and it causes the evil lurkers to hide from them.  And, then there is the laser light.

I had an aha moment about the variations of light that we should consider since we are LIGHT bearers.  Unquestionably, there are times when we need to be soft candlelight that is calm, sensitive, and tender to those around us.  Other times, our light must be bold and bright to bring about clarity and illumination and eyes of understanding to be opened to the truth of God's love and Word.  Then there are times when our lights are flood and spot lights -- that dispel the darkness as we lift up He Who is the One deserving to be in the spotlight -- after all HE IS THAT LIGHT.  And then there is the LASER light that is the LASER Sword of "God's Word that is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires."  Hebrews 4:12

This aha moment spoke to me about the times when I need to regulate my "little light" and pay attention to which light I should be shining at any given time -- especially when sharing about Him.   Yes, now as I sing "This little light of mine, I'm gonna' let it shine" -- I'm going to consider "Do I need to turn up the dimmer switch or turn it down?"  Do I put away the harsh, cold light that is insensitive and makes others just want to stay away from my light?  And, what about pulling out my LASER Sword of God's Word?  Those decisions are best accomplished by checking in with THE LIGHT SOURCE -- He Who knows everything about everything will guide us and help us light the way for others to come to Him.