The weather this past week has been the most beautiful ever. At least in my experience. Warm, sunny days with highs in the upper 70s and night time lows in the 40s. It reminds me of my grade school years in Minnesota. Most years we had a brief spell of beautiful weather after the frost killed off all the growing plants, but it never lasted this long! It gave us one last chance to bike to school and play outdoors before the snow had us building forts and carving caves out of Minnesota’s 20 feet high snow banks.
I no longer look forward to winter’s cold and snow. Even Tennessee is too cold. My silent hope is to someday spend the winter in Chile where they grow blueberries, big juicy blackberries, and other delicious fruit while we are shivering in the cold.
But I doubt if I’ll ever make that happen. Thing is, I don’t want it badly enough! If I did it would happen. That is the whole point of today’s post, if you want something badly enough you will find a way to have it. Thomas More way back in 1510, prayed, “The things, Good Lord, that we pray for give us the grace to work for.”
I wasn’t around to hear if from Thomas More, but I did learn this lesson from a high-school boy, the son of a single, “welfare” mother, many years ago in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He told me, “If you want something, you need to want it bad enough to work for it.” Not very profound, but his is a long story, one well worth reading and much too complicated for this space. You will find it in Chapter 21 of “Messengers in Denim.”
Read about Dennis and you will get some insight into what it is like to be poor and motivated. Interesting how much we can learn from teenagers, or people of any age, if we try. Read his story and I guarantee you’ll have a wet face when your finished. Then, dry your eyes and think of ways you can help kids in his situation. The “Boys and Girls Club” comes to mind; so does the Big Brother and Sister organizations. If you have kids of your own get them to help too. It will be eye opening and helpful for everyone and you will find winter is warmer no matter where you live.