Pressing On

When Lynn and I were stationed at Fort Campbell Kentucky, one section of the highway thru Clarksville Tennessee was named “Wilma Rudolph Highway”. A lot of folks don’t even know who she was, but her story is a great example of overcoming adversity. Wilma Rudolph was the 20th of 22 children. She was born prematurely and doctors didn't expect her to survive. She did make it, 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.

The Apostle Paul once said, “one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:13-14 Paul faced enormous trials and adversity, but he refused to be held back by the battles of the past. With his faith in God, he pressed on thru the adversity to reach the other side. That didn’t mean that the adversity wasn’t hard, it simply meant that with the strength of Christ, he would persevere. You and I will never know what the Lord has in store for us until we do the same.

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