Tuesday; July 27

I have been around sports almost all my life. Between watching college football, the NFL and Major League Baseball, I have spent (wasted) a lot of time and gained a lot of enjoyment. As I look back on a lifetime of exposure to these groups, there are a few people who stand out – and one of them is Bobby Bowden. Coach Bowden was an Alabama kid who thankfully never quite made it back to his home state. I am sure he could feel its allure from the Florida State University campus in Tallahassee, but for a lot of us who enjoyed his run at FSU, we are glad he stayed. While I liked Coach Bowden’s football teams, the thing that impressed me the most was Coach Bowden himself. I could fill a lot of pages with his quotes, but as Coach Bowden faces his last days on earth, I thought I would share a couple with you. In one he remarked, “A guy who has all the money he needs and never faced any hard times, he won't have any character. But when you've had it tough and you've had it rough and you thought you were at the end of the rope and you work your way out of it, that's the way you build character.” and in another, “People that are brilliant and successful, we think they've just always been that way. That's not the case. Most of them have had some tough adversity in their life. It's prepared them. I've never felt like you could develop character without adversity.”. Coach Bowden was constantly surrounded by young men who would have to overcome challenges, so his message to them was don’t be a victim, rise to the level of a victor!
This concept didn’t begin at FSU, it has been a part of wisdom for centuries. The New Testament reminds us, “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” (James 1:2-4). Let’s never forget that life is tough, but when we are tougher we’ll become better than we’ve ever been.

Think About It!

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