[Nfbk] Overcoming Obstacles

[Joey Couch]

"Overcoming Obstacles"

A farmer’s son once watched with great compassion as a tiny chick
stirred within its shell. Slowly the bird made a small crack in the
egg, its tiny beak just poking through. And then, weary from its
efforts, the bird paused to rest.

Thinking he would help, the young boy pried open the shell with his
thumbs, pulling away fragments of the shell until the bird was free.
But in his eagerness to make life easier for the young bird, he sealed
its fate: Without strength built from pecking open its own shell, the
bird could not survive.

Obstacles are a part of life, but most of us don’t realize what a
vital part they are, building in us the traits we need to succeed in
life. We often see difficulties and failures as doors that have
slammed, opportunities we’ve lost, when in fact these trials can be
gifts.

Look at the everyday heroes around us who overcome setbacks—a child
without sight who learns to swim, a single mother who puts herself
through nursing school and later helps all her children through
college, a man who takes on an extra job to support his family during
tough economic times. These are people who refuse to be beaten; they
persevere through the storms and use challenges as a catapult.

Every bird in flight is an example to us of this same perseverance.
Each one had to break through its shell, one chip at a time,
determined to live, determined to fly. The shell was an obstacle but
also the very tool that built strength and tenacity.

Those who understand this truth refuse to let bumps in the road define
their entire journey. If we resolve never to give up, then our
obstacles, instead of becoming final verdicts, can launch us to
greater heights.





-- 
Joey Couch
phone 606-216-8033.
email ki4vjd at gmail.com
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