Christian Living

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Milestones Of Life
© 2009

by

Stephen A. Peterson


“Moose” Delgado was a 6’7”, 255 pound teen with a heart as huge as his frame. Many thought Moose was just a big, dumb football player. Everyone, that is, except Neil O’Hara knew better. Without Moose’s help, Neil would have flunked biology, algebra III and physics.

“Keep working through a problem. The more you repeat work on similar problems, the more you learn to recognize the rule that underlies it. Once you learn the rule then you will be able to recognize other problems like the one you’re working now,” Moose would constantly tell his buddy Neil.

“Don’t be afraid of a problem!” Moose would say smiling. “You give yourself a chance when you have confidence. Confidence comes by a desire to work through the problem.”

When Neil flunked algebra III time and time again, Moose would just smile, pat him on the shoulder and tell him about Abraham Lincoln. “Just think of Abe,” he would say. “Defeated in just about everything he tried in life. Lost his mom when he was very young. Lost every political office he ran for before he was elected President of the United States. Called a fool and an idiot repeatedly by his wife. Even members of the American press called him names daily. They made him responsible for the Civil War of 1861-1865. He was said by the media and the intellectuals of his day to be the worst President ever in the history of the United States. Some even wrote that death would have been a more suitable outcome for such a stupid man. As members of Congress threatened to try to remove Lincoln from office alleging he prosecuted the Civil War so badly, Lincoln observed a spider in the Presidential office. He watched a spider attempt to spin a web across the ceiling. Lincoln counted ten failed attempts. On the eleventh attempt, the web held. Based upon the spider’s work effort, Lincoln decided not to give up trying to find generals who could win the Civil War. Finally, he found Ulysses Grant many considered a failure. Grant gave him victories and in less than two years the war was won. Roughly sixty year following his death in 1865, Lincoln was considered by historians one of the greatest Presidents in American history—second only to President George Washington.”

It took Neil O’Hara more than five tries to pass algebra III. He eventually did it with the help of Moose Delgado and his unwillingness to just let his friend fail.

Years later Neil O’Hara would tell his service personnel, as an Army Commander, never be afraid of a problem be it in training or on a battle field or in life. During a brief moment, Neil recalled the many times he faced what might be judged impossible tasks. Impossible tasks he had to tell himself more than once not to fear and go forward—a life time.

That is exactly what God tell us throughout every person’s life. God tells us to throw off the millstones of fear, doubts and hesitations that will always hold one back. These millstones may be laziness, jealousy, continued ignorance, worldliness (materialism) to name a few. God expects everyone who calls her/him—self His follower to daily take up their cross, to confront the tasks He puts before them and to do so with the knowledge that He is with them every step of the way.

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