Tenacious Me?
“We don’t quit we go and get,
we’re the Go-Getters, Go-to-Go-Getters.
One...two...three and we Go-G0-Go.
Ask us do we give up and we say NO!
I can’t give up, ’cause I’m not a quitter.
Why? ’Cause I’m a Go-Getter!”
Holy Family Lutheran School Cheer
Last week I had the opportunity to visit Holy Family Lutheran School, a Pre-K through eighth grade school that serves some of Chicago's poorest communities. In addition to providing a safe haven and quality education, Holy Family’s goal is to instill a tenacious attitude in their students, as referenced by the above-quoted chant. The prevailing thought is that over the course of their lives, Holy Family students will face a tremendous number of obstacles, and in order to thrive, these kids will need to have a solid belief in themselves and a keen eye on the prize. The barriers to success that they will encounter are nearly impossible for me to imagine.
So why, when I have every advantage imaginable, am I sometimes so easily defeated? Am I lacking this tenacious attitude because life has been too easy for me?
I am completely humbled when I compare the problems that can paralyze me to the horrors that these kids and their families have to endure on a daily basis. How can I possibly be so completely defeated when my life gets a little tricky? What is the secret to perspective?.
God, help me to value the gifts that I have been granted. To appreiate and enjoy the journey when the path is smooth and when it is rocky. Help me to know which journeys are worth embarking upon and those that are better left untraveled. Lord, I know that I have the ability to be of great service to others, but do not always have the drive to do so. Please grant me the hunger to share of myself so that I can ease the burdens of others, which will in turn ease my own burdens and enrich my own life.