MILTON MONDAY: JUST ONE MORE TELEPHONE POLE

Terry Fox ran 3,339 miles across Canada at almost 26 miles a day with a prosthesis due to the loss of one leg to cancer. His efforts led to the development of the Terry Fox fund which has raised almost $350 million for cancer research. When asked how he managed to keep going in his cross country run, with exhaustion and fatigue setting in with yet thousands of miles to go, he answered, “I just kePT running to the next telephone pole.” In other words he stayed focused on short incremental distances that he felt he could do, and that led to running over 3,000 miles!

It is amazing what can get done if we’re just determined to stay focused and committed to the task. There is a Japanese proverb that reads, “Fall down seven times, get up eight times.” Norman Vincent Peale said, “It is always too soon to quit.” We should never give up on our hopes and dreams even when it seems almost impossible.

Consider this:

1. Admiral Robert Peary attempted to reach the North Pole seven times before he made it on try number eight.

2. In its first 28 attempts to send rockets into space, NASA had 20 failures.

3. Oscar Hamilton had five flop shows that lasted less than a combined total of 6 weeks before Oklahoma!, which ran for almost 269 weeks and grossed $7 million.

4. Abraham Lincoln lost eight elections and was let go from various jobs before he was elected President of the United States.

5. The disciples fished all night before they caught more than a boat full when they followed the directions of our Lord.

I can still hear the words of the lady runner who passed me near the end of my first 15k (9.3 miles) run. She was repeating over and over, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me…I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me…I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me…” As she passed me, those words got in my spirit, and I, too, completed the race through Christ who strengthens me.

What dream do you have that you are tempted to give up? If it is a God-given dream, let God show you the way to turn your dream into reality. He has a way of turning impossible situations into glorious testimonies. Just run to one more telephone pole. Give God a chance to see you through. He will not fail.