Life’s Lessons: Adversities

“In the world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)


Wilma Rudolph was the 20th of 22 children. She was born prematurely and doctors didn't expect her to survive. She did but at the age of 4, she contracted double pneumonia and scarlet fever, which left her with her left leg paralyzed. At the age of 9, she removed the metal leg brace she had depended on for the past five years and began walking without it. By 13, she had developed a rhythmic walk, which doctors said was a miracle. That same year, she decided she wanted to begin running. She entered her first race and came in last. For the next three years, she came in dead last in every race she entered. But, she kept on running until the day came that she won a race. Eventually, the little girl who was not supposed to live and then who was not supposed to be able to walk would win three Olympic gold medals.

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Before the Civil War, Edmund McIlhenny operated a sugar plantation and a saltworks on Avery Island, Louisiana. Yankee troops invaded the area in 1863, and McIlhenny had to flee. When he returned in 1865, his sugar fields and saltworks were ruined. One of the few things left were some hot Mexican peppers that had reseeded themselves in the kitchen garden. McIlhenny, who was living hand to mouth, experimented with the ground peppers to make a sauce that would liven up his dull diet. His newfound sauce is known today as Tabasco sauce. To this day, over one hundred years later, the McIlhenny Company and its Tabasco business is still run by the McIlhenny family.

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Bette Nesmith was a single mother trying to support her young son on the meager pay she received as a secretary in a Dallas Bank. While typing letters for her employer, she found that electric typewriters don't erase very well, so she developed an idea: Artists paint over their mistakes, why not try it with typing mistakes? She continued to develop this idea, which eventually became the product known as Liquid Paper. This simple tool increased the efficiency of secretaries throughout corporate America. Eventually she sold the company for $47 million. One good idea, acted upon, was the difference between poverty and wealth for Bette Nesmith. (p.s. Bette Nesmith's son, Michael Nesmith, later became a member of the 60's rock group, The Monkees.)

Charlie Wedemeyer

Throughout his lifetime Charlie Wedemeyer has been an inspiration to others. He played quarterback for the Michigan state team and was national athlete for the state of Hawaii in the 1960s. He went on to coaching football and was promoted to head football coach for the Wildcats in 1977.

Just a year later in 1978, Wedemeyer, at age 32, was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig's disease, the debilitating disease that attacks motor neurons, slowly causing the person with ALS to lose his or her ability to walk, speak, swallow and breathe. At the time of his diagnosis, doctors said Wedemeyer would only live one to three more years – it’s been almost thirty.

Wedemeyer, now 59, is a testament to the phrase `life goes on.' His life didn't stop with the diagnosis or when faced with the effects of ALS. Through the help of his wife, Lucy, Wedemeyer continued his everyday activities, including both teaching and coaching. He taught math until 1981, and coached football until January 1986 in a golf cart on the sidelines, with Lucy by his side reading his lips to interpret plays and instruct players.

Wedemeyer is a great example of living life to its fullest, overcoming the odds and achieving great success. He passed those lessons on most recently to the Spartans as they prepared for play in the Silicon Valley Football Classic in 2001. With Lucy reading his lips, Charlie spoke to the players the day before the game about the importance of teamwork, and concluded by saying, "Never give up."

The Spartans didn't give up, defeating Fresno State 44-35, and the same goes for Wedemeyer, three years later he still hasn't given up.

Today, he can only move his eyes, eyebrows, lips and is on 24-hour-a-day life support. Through the years, Lucy gently and patiently loves and cares for him.

In 1993, Charlie and Lucy founded the Charlie Wedemeyer Family Outreach, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping ALS patients and their families by offering hope through raising funds for research and patient services, by raising awareness, and by way of example.

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My humblest salutation to Charlie for his perseverance and Lucy for her unconditional love.

Bamboo Lesson

You may find this uplifting & helpful...

One day I decided to quit… 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?"

His answer surprised me…

"Look around", God said. "Do you see the fern and the bamboo?"

"Yes", I replied.

"When I planted the fern and the bamboo seeds, I took very good care of them. I gave them light. I gave them water. The fern quickly grew from the earth. Its brilliant green covered the floor. Yet nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo.

In the second year the fern grew more vibrant and plentiful. And again, nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo."

God said, "In year three there was still nothing from the bamboo seed. But I would not quit.

In year four, again, there was nothing from the bamboo seed. I would not quit." God said.

"Then in the fifth year a tiny sprout emerged from the earth. Compared to the fern it was seemingly small and insignificant...But just 6 months later the bamboo rose to over 100 feet tall. It had spent the five years growing roots. Those roots made it strong and gave it what it needed to survive. I would not give any of my creations a challenge it could not handle." God said to me.

"Did you know, that all this time you have been struggling, you have actually been growing roots?"

"I would not quit on the bamboo. I will never quit on you."

"Don't compare yourself to others." God said. "The bamboo had a different purpose than the fern. Yet they both make the forest beautiful."

"Your time will come", God said to me. "You will rise high."

"How high should I rise?" I asked.

"How high will the bamboo rise?" God asked in return.

"As high as it can?" I questioned.

"Yes." God said, "Give me glory by rising as high as you can."

God never gives up on you. Life is not a problem to be solved, but a gift to be enjoyed.

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Yet how often have I been impatient & envious, demanding my dreams my way on my terms? How often have I run ahead, barefoot, only to find cuts & bruises on my unprotected feet and have myself fall out of track, vision blurred & heart anguished?

But when I realise that every man/woman has his/her day & season of glory, I can afford to be more patient and to enjoy the joy & pain of each adventure.

The Mind

Liu Chi Kung placed second to Van Cliburn in the 1958 Tchaikovsky competition. A year later, he was imprisoned during the Cultural Revolution in China. During his seven-year captivity, he didn't have access to a piano of any kind. Very soon after his release, he was back on tour. Critics were amazed at his playing, stating that it was better than ever. "How did you do this?" one critic asked. "You had no chance to practice for seven years."

"I did practice," Liu replied, "every day I rehearsed every piece I had ever played, note by note, in my mind."

Perhaps the only area in our life where we have total control is in our mind. It's in the mind that the battles of life are won or lost. It's in the mind where we choose to follow God or go our own way. It's in the mind where we battle temptation. This is why David said, "Your Word I have hid in my heart, that I might not sin against you" (Psalms 119:11, NIV).

Allen Ginsberg, the great American Beat poet says: "We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts we make the world."

And may I humbly add: With our hands we make dreams reality. ;)

Joy in the Now

An American businessman was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with a single fisherman docked. Inside the boat were several large yellowfin tuna. The American complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them.

"Only a little while," the Mexican replied.
"Then why didn't you stay out longer and catch more fish?"
"This is enough to meet my family's needs."
"But what do you do with the rest of your time?"
"I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take a siesta with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos. I have a full and busy life, senor."

The American scoffed. "I am a Harvard M.B.A. and could help you. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds buy a bigger boat. With the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats. Eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing and distribution. You could leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then Los Angeles where you would run your expanding enterprise."

The Mexican fisherman asked, "But senor, how long will this all take?"

"Fifteen to twenty years."

"But what then, senor?"

The American laughed and said, "That's the best part. When the time is right you would announce a public offering and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich. You would make millions!"

"Millions, senor? Then what?"

"Why, then you would retire. Move to a small coastal village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your grandkids, take a siesta with your wife, and stroll into the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos."

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"Nothing is better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and that his soul should enjoy good in his labor. This also, I saw, was from the hand of God." - Ecc 2:24