It is well said: "Strength and courage aren't always measured in
medals and victories. They are measured in the struggles we
overcome. The strongest people aren't always the people who win,
but the people who don't give up when they lose."
A story is told that Andrew Jackson's boyhood friends just
couldn't understand how he became a famous general and then the
President of the United States. They knew of others who had
greater talent but who never succeeded. One of Jackson's friends
commented, "Why, Jim Brown, who lived right down the pike from
Jackson, was not only smarter but he could throw Andy three times
out of four in a wrestling match. But look where Andy is now."
Another friend responded, "How did there happen to be a fourth
time? Didn't they usually say three times and out?"
"Sure, they were supposed to, but not Andy. He would never admit
he was beat -- he would never stay 'throwed.' Jim Brown would
get tired, and on the fourth try Andrew Jackson would throw him
and be the winner."
Andrew Jackson just wouldn't stay 'throwed'! And that
determination served him well for many years.
Life will knock us off our feet again and again. You've been
there and so have I. But some people just won't stay 'throwed.'
They get up again, dust themselves off and go for it one more
time. These are people of courage. They are also people of faith
and hope.
Maybe you have been knocked off your feet. Will you stay
'throwed,' or will you rise and give it your best one more time?
Author Unknown, contributed by Dee Dee Maddox
