3 Examples of Beating the Odds

I am incredibly stubborn; but, usually, I have an agenda.  My plan is to rebuild what’s been taken from me through a lifetime of hard knocks in every area. I am not going to give in by taking the “easy way out” (which is a foreign concept to me, in any case.) I have never had the option of choosing simplicity in any endeavor. Literally, everything I undertake has been exponentially more difficult for me than for many others. 

Yet, I keep putting one foot in front of the other. Step-by-step is the way any achiever succeeds. If we give up, we don’t succeed; it’s that simple.

Am I alone in having this attitude? Of course not! If that were the case, we wouldn’t hear so many accounts of survivors against the odds. For that reason, today I am featuring three incredibly strong ladies who I was privileged to meet through the Google+ community, Awesome Bloggers .  (Please see the always charming, often deeply moving posts of the owner of the community, Ahmed Kanan, at The Keyboard Talk. Incidentally, he also honored me with a guest blog  a few months ago.)

Three Everyday Survivors

Mary Burris—blogs at Jingle, Jangle, Jungle. She is a cancer and challenging relationship survivor. Yet, she writes about popular music, past and present, in a manner that puts a smile on the reader’s face. Mary skillfully reminds us that, whatever we go through, it’s important to keep our hearts as light as possible.

Suzi T—blogs at Chronicles of a Lumpy Person. Her 20-year-old daughter, Ashton, has a genetic disorder called Cowden’s disease. This condition has necessitated 15 surgeries so far; the next operation is scheduled soon. This remarkable woman has recently left her full-time job in order to concentrate her full attention on her daughter’s complicated medical care.

Carol Graham—blogs at Never…Ever…Give up Hope. She has her hand in many pots: jewelry store owner, motivational speaker, author, and more. Yet, this lady of steel has been forced to deal with her husband’s near-fatal car accidents (two of them!) She also survived the arson of one of her fine jewelry stores.

 

A Survivor in The Bible--Nehemiah

Pictured above is the wall surrounding Jerusalem built during the 5^th century B.C. The prophet Nehemiah supervised construction. He knew a wall was necessary in order to defend the city from intruders because the Israelites were living in captivity in Babylon at this time. King Artaxerxes of Babylon allowed the prophet to return to Jerusalem in order to build the wall. Estimates state the wall took 20 years to build. In the meantime, the builders overcame bullying and many other setbacks.

In fact, Nehemiah’s determination to push forward angered some powerful people. Nehemiah 4:1-2 states that a man called Sanballat, in particular, grew angry and ridiculed the Jewish people.

My Conclusion

I say “Keep those bricks coming, one by one!” Many everyday people conquer outrageous odds daily. We just don’t always hear about it because it doesn’t promote “good ratings”, or “good sales”. Nevertheless, there are stories of human triumph against the odds wherever you look.

What are you building brick by brick?