DAILY ENCOURAGEMENT WEDNESDAY - OBSTACLES.

Track star Wilma Rudolph won three gold medals in the 1960 Olympics, but to get there she had to overcome enormous hurdles. Stricken with scarlet fever at the age of 4, she lost the use of her left leg and had to learn to walk again when she was 7. - Source Unknown.

And it will be said: "Build up, build up, prepare the road! Remove the obstacles out of the way of my people." - Isa 57:14.

Michael A. Guido of Metter, Georgia, columnist of several newspapers writes:
"An artist in Mexico lost his right hand while working on a statue. But he did not give up his work. He learned to carve with his left hand. His beautifully finished masterpiece was called 'In Spite Of.' "

A sound body, a brilliant mind, a cultural background, a huge amount of money, a wonderful education, none of these guarantee success.

Booker T. Washington was born in slavery.
Thomas Edison was deaf. Abraham Lincoln was born of illiterate parents.
Lord Byron had a club foot.
Robert Louis Stevenson had tuberculosis.
Alexander Pope was a hunchback.
Admiral Nelson had only one eye.
Julius Caesar was an epileptic.

But these men made history in spite of their handicaps. And there was Louis Pasteur, so near-sighted that he had a difficult time finding his way in his laboratory without glasses. There was Helen Keller, who could not hear or see, but who graduated with honors from a famous college.

"Got a handicap? Call on the Lord. No problem is too big for Him, or too small. He will make everything 'work together for good' -- if you trust Him."

Surely, Guido understands the nature of the human spirit to overcome all obstacles, and that by the power of God! - Source Unknown.

Johnny Fulton was run over by a car at the age of three. He suffered crushed hips, broken ribs, a fractured skull, and compound fractures in his legs. It did not look as if he would live. But he would not give up. In fact, he later ran the half- mile in less than two minutes.

Walt Davis was totally paralyzed by polio when he was nine years old, but he did not give up. He became the Olympic high jump champion in 1952.

Shelly Mann was paralyzed by polio when she was five years old, but she would not give up. She eventually claimed eight different swimming records for the U.S. and won a gold medal at the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne, Australia.

In 1938, Karoly Takacs, a member of Hungary's world-champion pistol shooting team and sergeant in the army, lost his right hand when a grenade he was holding exploded. But Takacs did not give. up. He learned to shoot left-handed and won gold medals in the 1948 and 1952 Olympics.

Lou Gehrig was such a clumsy ball player that the boys in his neighborhood would not let him play on their team. But he was committed. He did not give up. Eventually, his name was entered into baseball's Hall of Fame.

Woodrow Wilson could not read until he was ten years old. But he was a committed person. He became the twenty-eighth President of the United States.
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At the age of seven, he had to go to work to help support his family. At nine, his mother died. At twenty-two, he lost his job as a store clerk. At twenty-three, he went into debt and became a partner in a small store. At twenty-six, his partner died leaving him a huge debt. By the age of thirty-five, he had been defeated twice when running for a seat in Congress.

At the age of thirty-seven, he won the election. At thirty-nine, he lost his reelection bid. At forty- one, his four-year-old son died. At forty-two, he was rejected for a land officer role. At forty-five, he ran for the Senate and lost. At forty-seven, he was defeated for the nomination for Vice President. At forty-nine, he ran for Senate again and lost again. At the age of fifty-one, he was elected President of the United States. During his second term of office, he was assassinated.

But Abraham Lincoln's name lives on among the greats in U.S. history - Knofel Stanton.

Loving Father, by the power of the Holy Spirit, help me to overcome any obstacle that lies in my path, which would hinder my walk with you, so that I may bring glory to your name. In the wonderful Name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.

Be encouraged!
GBYAY