Perseverance

“There must be a beginning of any great matter, but the continuing unto the end until it is thoroughly finished, yields the true glory.”

Francis Drake

Hillary Clinton once said the following about her mother-in-law, Virginia Kelley: “Virginia's greatest legacy was to show that, even in the midst of personal trials and pain, you can and must keep going. Her lesson was that, no matter how hard life gets, you get up in the morning, say a prayer, put a smile on your face and go out and brave the world to do the best you can.”

Okay, let’s admit that the world is a mean and nasty place that will try to beat you down around every corner, and it will try and keep you there if YOU let it. Setbacks are only momentarily, quitting is however permanent, so today I want us to ponder perseverance. The Norwegians say that a sip at a time empties the cask, while the Moroccans say that perseverance pierces marble. You have to persevere in whatever you do, as long as it is in the pursuit of a good cause; don’t quit except when it is for the sake of being on the path of a bad course. 

Please, don’t forget that it is also much more important HOW you handle that which you have to endure, than WHATEVER it is that you must endure. Euripides wrote thousands of years ago that perseverance and trusting in the hope one has is a true show of courage, so be courageous and persevere, and continue to carry away the small stones in your attempt to move the mountain.

But what if I fail of my purpose here?
It is but to keep the nerves at strain,
To dry one's eyes and laugh at a fall,
And, baffled, get up and begin again.

Robert Browning

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