Talents...everyone has them!

Today in church we talked about Talents and how everyone has them. We talked about how you can be born with some talents, but if you don't use them then you can lose them. We talked about how you may not have been born with certain talents, but could develop them throughout your life time. I love the story in the book of Matthew 25 verses 14-29 about the parable of the Talents.  In that scripture we learn that the Lord totally expects us to use and develop our talents.
6 things that I wrote down today about talents were this...

1. You must discover what talents you have.
2. You must be willing to spend the time and effort to develop your talent.
3. You need to have FAITH that your Heavenly Father will help you in developing talents.
4. You need to learn the skills that are necessary for developing that talent, like ask a friend, read a book or take a class. ( Be pro-active )
5.  You need to practice using your talent. Every talent takes effort and work.
6.  You should be willing to share your talents with others. By using our talents we grow and learn.

"That which we persist in doing becomes easier for us to do, not that the nature of the thing changed, but that our power to do....is increased." ~Heber J. Grant

In 1960 the Olympics were held in Melbourne, Australia. There on the winner’s platform in the spotlight one day stood a beautiful, tall, blonde American girl. She was being presented a gold medal, symbolic of first place in worldwide competition. As she stood there, some boys whistled and others were heard to say, “There’s a gal who has everything.”

Tears ran down her cheeks as she accepted the recognition. Many thought she was touched by the victory ceremony. The thing most of the audience did not know was the story of her determination, self-discipline, and daily action. At the age of five she had polo. When the disease left her body, she couldn’t use her arms or legs. Her parents took her daily to a swimming pool where they hoped the water would help hold her arms up as she tried to use them again. When she could lift her arm out of the water with her own power, she cried for joy. Then her goal was to swim the width of the pool, then the length, then several lengths. She kept on trying, swimming, enduring, day after day after day, until she won the gold medal for the butterfly stroke—one of the most difficult of all swimming strokes—in Melbourne, Australia.

What if Shelly Mann had not been encouraged to achieve at age five and to continue and overcome? What a tremendous asset were parents who assisted her in the importance of now and today in preparation for tomorrow.
I found the story HERE:

 

In 1984, she was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame for her accomplishments.

"Just Because You Can't See It, Doesn't Mean It's Not There"

 

"Our strides of today will determine our locations tomorrow." ~ Marvin J. Ashton 

 

My Hero!

"Many Americans mistakenly believe that Veterans Day is the day America sets aside to honor American military personnel who died in battle or as a result of wounds sustained from combat. That's not quite true. Memorial Day is the day set aside to honor America's war dead. Veterans Day, on the other hand, honors ALL American veterans, both living and dead. In fact, Veterans Day is largely intended to thank LIVING veterans for dedicated and loyal service to their country. November 11 of each year is the day that we ensure veterans know that we deeply appreciate the sacrifices they have made in the lives to keep our country free. I read this explanation about Veteran's Day" here: 

I just want to thank my brother Mike, for the sacrifice and service that he has made. He is one of my favorite Veterans! He has shown our whole family what courage and determination is! He is an amazing man, wonderful husband, Father, Grandfather and brother. Many times I have thought of him, when things get tough in my life, and remembering what he has been through, quickly changes my perspective! My life is good and as you look at Mike and his family's photo, then you realize that his life is good too!
So hats off to my brother Michael, my personal Hero... as well as all of the other incredibly dedicated Veterans out there. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

"Freedom is never free." ~Author Unknown
"Courage is almost a contradiction in terms. It means a strong desire to live taking the form of readiness to die." ~G.K. Chesterton
"Our veterans accepted the responsibility to defend America and uphold our values when duty called."
- Bill Shuster

What a great story!

"Don't be put off by people who know what is not possible. Do what needs to be done, and check to see if it was impossible only after you are done." --Paul Hawken

Little Ellie & The Olympian: The Kindest Race Ever

 

--by The Huffington Post, Original Story, Aug 10, 2012 He's a world record holding sprinter from South Africa. She's a spunky 5-year-old from Essex, England. In an inspiring series of images that have recently gone viral, the two strangers, united only by a stubborn refusal to let double amputations stop them, race each other in a friendly bionic foot race.

Oscar "Blade Runner" Pistorious, 25, was just 11 months old when doctors discovered he had no fibulas, requiring below-the-knee amputations of both his legs. Ellie May Challis lost both her hands and legs at 16 months, after contracting a severe case of meningitis.

Although Ellie was originally fitted with standard prosthetics, the toddler found them difficult to walk with. More sophisticated carbon fiber legs -- the kind worn by Pistorious -- were expensive, but Ellie's community rallied behind her, raising the $15,000 needed for the replacements. In 2009, the 5-year-old became the youngest person ever to be fitted with carbon fiber prostheses.

Held at an indoor track in Enfield, North London, little Ellie actually bested the champion sprinter in all four of their 15-meter races, to the cheers of her twin sister Sophie, and older siblings Taila and Connor.

In a historic announcement, Pistorious, who runs using special Cheetah Flex Footlimbs, was granted permission to race in the London 2012 Olympic Games,reversing a ban by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. The International Association of Athletics had ruled Pistorious could not compete in the games because his Flex Foot limbs represented an unfair advantage. However, the Court reviewed evidence from two new (and conflicting) studies before making its ruling in favor of Pistorious.

Pistorious qualified for the semifinal heat of the 400 meter race on Sunday, but failed to qualify for the finals. His time, 46.54 seconds, was two seconds slower than the heat's winner, reigning world champion Kirani James of Grenada. In a show of respect and sportsmanship, James embraced Pistorious after the race and asked to exchange bib numbers.

"I just see him as another athlete, another competitor," James told reporters the day before the semifinal. "What's more important is I see him as another person. He's someone I admire and respect."

For his part, in an interview on the TODAY show, Pistorious said he will cherish his Olympic memories for "the rest of [his] life." As his 89-year-old grandmother watched from the stands, Pistorious said, "Hearing the roar of the crowd and knowing that there were so many people behind me just made it that much more enjoyable.
Found the story HERE:

2012 London Summer Olympics!

 I have to admit, I love the effort, determination, and talent of those athletes who make it to the Olympics! We have missed watching it this year because for some reason our TV system isn't working. But I try to keep up with it through the internet. Of course when I read this story of Natalia from Poland, I was super impressed. I love it when you see someone with such a fighting spirit, that against all odds...they are going to succeed. Shouldn't we all be a little more like that? Anyway, it is a great story!
 Wanted to write early today, because Jeff was sick Friday and we missed our Date Night so...we are going out tonight! Yeah, I love Date Nights!

Natalia Partyka, a one-armed table tennis player from Poland, competed in the 2012 London Olympics.

What's impressive about Natalia Partyka is not that she qualified for the Olympics for the second time running -- scores of athletes have returned for the 2012 London Summer Olympics -- but that she is able to compete with her able-bodied peers despite her handicap.
Partyka was born without a right hand and forearm.
The 23-year-old Paralympian who hails from Poland made it to the final 32 in the women's singles table tennis event, but was eliminated after losing to the Netherlands' Jie Li. Partyka, who faced Li twice before and lost, will have a chance to redeem herself next Friday during the women's team table tennis tournament.
Partyka is one of two athletes, along with South African runner Oscar Pistorius, who will compete in both the Olympics and the Paralympics this year. Though she's never medaled at the Olympic Games, she took home gold for singles table tennis and silver for team during the 2008 and 2004 Paralympics.
Partyka's table tennis dreams stem from her childhood desire to beat her big sister. At 7, she followed her sister Sandra to a table tennis hall in Gdansk, Poland, and practiced gripping the paddle with her left hand, using the crook of her right elbow to serve the ball.
"Soon my sister’s trainer was telling me to come along to practice with my sister. It really excited me. We would play at home, bouncing the ball against walls and on the kitchen table," Partyka told MSNBC Today.
By 11, Partyka was heading to her first Paralympics, representing Poland. She was the youngest player to compete in any sport. Though she lost at the 2000 Paralympics, Partyka was eager to compete in Athens, where she won her first medal.
“I dream about achieving in the Olympics what I’ve achieved in the Paralympics. But I still have a long road ahead of me,” she said.
Partyka could potentially medal in women's team table tennis if Poland fairs well, but her Olympic dreams won't be fulfilled until she stands on the highest podium.
“There is nothing more beautiful than standing on the highest podium and listening to 'Dabrowski’s Mazurka,'” Poland’s national anthem, Partyka told MSNBC Today. "To hear that anthem, it would all have so much meaning. It's a beautiful moment where time stands still. That’s why it's worth fighting, and worth the sacrifice.” Read more HERE:

"Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will." ~ Mahatma Gandi

"Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome while trying to succeed." ~ Booker T. Washington

A mother’s love!

You can never underestimate a Mother’s love for her child. It can do impossible things…if necessary!

This sweet story I think…is all about that type of love, determination and sacrifice.

Enjoy! Good night dear friends!

The Mountain

There were two warring tribes in the Andes, one that lived in the lowlands and the other high in the mountains. The mountain people invaded the lowlanders one day, and as part of their plundering of the people, they kidnapped a baby of one of the lowlander families and took the infant with them back up into the mountains.

The lowlanders didn't know how to climb the mountain. They didn't know any of the trails that the mountain people used, and they didn't know where to find the mountain people or how to track them in the steep terrain.

Even so, they sent out their best party of fighting men to climb the mountain and bring the baby home.

The men tried first one method of climbing and then another. They tried one trail and then another. After several days of effort, however, they had climbed only several hundred feet.

Feeling hopeless and helpless, the lowlander men decided that the cause was lost, and they prepared to return to their village below.

As they were packing their gear for the descent, they saw the baby's mother walking toward them. They realized that she was coming down the mountain that they hadn't figured out how to climb.

And then they saw that she had the baby strapped to her back. How could that be?

One man greeted her and said, "We couldn't climb this mountain. How did you do this when we, the strongest and most able men in the village, couldn't do it?"

She shrugged her shoulders and said, "It wasn't your baby."        ~ Jim Stovall

“If the whole world were put into one scale, and my mother in the other, the whole world would kick the beam.”    ~Lord Langdale (Henry Bickersteth)

“Motherhood is priced
Of God, at price no man may dare
To lessen or misunderstand.”
~Helen Hunt Jackson

Once upon a time...

Lauren has done her second Modern and Modest Disney Photo shot , it is of Belle from Beauty and the Beast. I love that movie, so I think this one was a great photo that she did! Here's a cute poem that summed up well all those ONCE UPON A TIME BELIEVERS! :)

We’ve been fascinated with them since we were little girls.
Back when we wore our hair in ribbons and curls.
We longed to go to a fancy ball and wear a pretty dress.
Now our lives are full of worry and stress.
All we wanted was to be like the Princess in our favorite story,
A place filled with nothing but glory.
A place where true loves kiss can break the most evil of spells.
A land of happily ever afters and wedding bells.
Where the glass slipper always fits,
And a handsome Prince who finds it easy to commit.
It’s where true love always conquers all,
And where no dream is too small.
A land where magic carpets can fly,
Where love is always in full supply.
An enchanting place where mermaids swim under the sea,
Where chivalry lives on and men get down on one knee.
Deep down we all want the fairy tale,
Where dreams and faith prevail.
We can go there any time we wish to break loose,
The fact that we’re grown now isn’t an excuse.
It’s a place where chasing your dreams is never a crime,
If only we could live once upon a time…

http://www.fanpop.com/spots/disney-prince/articles/57588/title/dreamygals-favorite-prince-list

[the Fairy Godmother appears as Cinderella sobs] 
Cinderalla: Oh, no. No, it isn't true. It's just no use. No use at all. I can't believe. Not anymore. There's nothing left to believe in. Nothing.
Fairy Godmother : Nothing, my dear? Oh, now you don't really mean that.
Cinderella : Oh, but I do...
Fairy Godmother : Nonsense, child. If you'd lost all your faith, I couldn't be here. And here I am.

" Dream as if you'll live forever, live as if you'll die today."  ~ James Dean

"Keep your dreams alive. Understand to achieve anything requires faith and belief in yourself, vision, hard work, determination. Remember all things are possible for those who believe."  ~ Gail Devers

How much more do we have to give?

I read this story and was so touched by it, that I wanted to share it with you today.

How Much Music Can You Make?

On Nov. 18, 1995, violinist Itzhak Perlman, performed a concert at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center in New York City. Stricken with
polio as a child, Perlman painfully walked with the aid of two crutches to a chair in the middle of the stage. He carefully laid the crutches on the floor, loosened the clasps of his leg braces, extended one leg forward and the other underneath his chair, picked up his instrument and nodded to the conductor to begin.
But something went wrong. After only seconds of playing, one of the strings on his violin broke. The snap was a gunfire reverberating in the auditorium. The audience immediately knew what happened and fully expected the concert to be suspended until another string or even another instrument could be found.
But Perlman surprised them. He quietly composed himself, closed his eyes and then signaled the conductor to begin again. The orchestra resumed where they had left off and Perlman played -- on three strings. He played with passion and power. All the time he worked out new fingering in his mind to compensate for the missing string. A work that few people could play well on four strings Perlman accomplished on three.
When he finished, an awesome silence hung in the room. And then as one, the crowd rose to their feet and cheered wildly. Applause burst forth from every corner of the auditorium as fans showed deep appreciation for his talent and his courage.
Perlman smiled and wiped the sweat from this brow. Then he raised his bow to quiet the crowd and said, not boastfully, but in a quiet, pensive, reverent tone, "You know, sometimes it is the artist's task to find out how much music you can still make with what you have left."
Perlman should know. Polio left him with less stamina than he had before, yet he went on. Playing a concert on three strings is not unlike his philosophy of life -- he persevered with what he had left and still made music.
And isn't that true with us? Our task is to find out how much music we can still make with what we have left. How much good we can still do. How much joy we can still share. For I'm convinced that the world, more than ever, needs the music only you and I can make.
And if it takes extra courage to make the music, many will applaud your effort. For some people have lost more than others, and these brave souls inspire the rest of us to greater heights.
So I want to ask, "How much music can you make with what you have left?"   ~ Steve Goodier

"Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and life to everything."
- Plato -

When the world says, "Give up,"
Hope whispers, "Try it one more time."
~Author Unknown

'Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time we fail."  ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Why me?

Have you ever asked yourself that question? More importantly did you ever get an answer, one that was fair and made a whole lot of sense? I know that we all once or twice have asked ourselves that question. We sometimes may even feel that it is bad luck, and that we are cursed ...with either bad luck or no luck at all. Opposition happens to every one. When I was looking up inspirational article I found this one about Opposition, and loved it so much that I thought I would share it with you tonight.

Cripple him and you have a Sir Walter Scott.
Lock him in a prison cell and you have a John Bunyon.
Bury him in the snows of Valley Forge, and you have a George Washington.
Raise him in poverty and you have an Abraham Lincoln.
Subject him to bitter religious strife, and you have a Franklin Delanore Roosevelt, the only U.S. president to serve four terms in office.
Burn him so severely in a school house fire that doctors say he will never walk again and you have a Glenn Cunningham, who set the world record in 1934 for running the mile in 4 minutes and 6.7 seconds.
Deafen a genius composer and you have a Ludwig van Beethoven.
Drag him more dead than alive from a rice paddy, and you have a Rocky Blyer, running back for the great 1970 decade Pittsburgh Steelers.
Have them born into a society filled with racial prejudice and hatred, and you have a Booker T. Washington, Harriet Tubman, or Martin Luther King, Jr.
Have him born into a Nazi concentration camp, paralyze him from the waist down at the age of four, and you have an Eastman Pearlman, the incomparable pianist.
Call him retarded and write him off as uneducated, and you have an Albert Einstein.
Amputate the cancer-ridden leg of a young Canadian, and you have a Terry Fox, who ran halfway across Canada on artificial legs.
Take both legs away from him and you have a Douglas Bater, an RAF fighter pilot who was captured three times by the Germans and who escaped three times on artificial limbs.
Label him too stupid to learn and you have a Thomas Edison.
Blind him at the age of 44, and you have a John Milton, who 16 years later wrote the great novel, "Paradise Lost."
Call him dull, hopeless, and flunk him out of school in the sixth grade, and you have the famous statesman Winston Churchill.
Tell a boy who loves to draw that he has no talent, and you have a Walt Disney.
Take a man who did nothing wrong to anyone, and spit on Him, mock Him, humiliate Him, be His trusted friend and then completely turn your back on Him, accept His loving kindness and service for years and then crucify Him, and after all this, have Him still forgive you, and you will have a Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ.

"You can measure a man by the opposition it takes to discourage him."  ~ Robert C. Savage

"Success is not measured by what you accomplish, but by the opposition you have encountered, and the courage with which you have maintained the struggle against overwhelming odd."  ~ Orison Swett Marden

 

"Don't be afraid of opposition. Remember, a kite rises against; not with; the wind."  ~ Hamilton Mabie

HOPE

I read this poem today that I found at www.wow4u.com and written by Catherine Pulsifer,  and loved it. It is so true, that hope gives us optimism when we are feeling discouraged.  I love the quote by Diogenes which says..."Hope is the dream of a waking man" or we could say waking woman! :) So sit back read it and know that there is always hope out there, no matter how hard life is... with a lot of faith and hope we can conquer anything!

As long as we have hope,
we have direction,
the energy to move,
and the map to move by.
We have a hundred alternatives,
a thousand paths and infinity of dreams.
Hopeful, we are halfway to where we want to go;
Hopeless, we are lost forever.

Hope is one of the prime differences between successful people and those who can only see failure. Successful people have hope because they can clearly see their goals. People who only see failure have no hope because they see no light, they set no goals, and they see nothing accomplished. Successful people see alternatives and are willing to try different ways. People who only see failure are unable to see another way and give up to easily. With hope you are halfway to where you want to go; by setting your goals, and taking the action to achieve them, you will see your hope turn into your reality!

 

"Once you choose hope, anything's possible."  ~ Christopher Reeve

 

"Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all."  ~ Dale Carnegie

 

"The Grand essentials of happiness are: something to do, something to love, and something to hope for."  ~ Allan K. Chalmers

Just do it!

There have been many times in my life where I have wanted to change something about myself or my circumstances, but life just kept happening. I found myself stuck in ruts and behaviors, that didn't make me the best person that I wanted to become. I was overwhelmed by the fact that there were so many issues in my life that I felt I needed to change. When Cancer hit for the first time, I took a long hard look at my life and realized that it was now or never...it was time for me to start changing the things that I knew I needed to change. What was stopping me? I just sorta felt that I have been this or that way for so long, or my situation has been this or that way for so long...I really didn't think I could change all of them.

I remember the day that I was at my friend's house and she was helping me do some research on cancer. I was talking to her about this very subject and I was on the floor crying ( mostly because I was scared of cancer and partly because I felt overwhelmed). I said to her " But how can I change almost every thing about me?" "How can I change everything I am? " Well, obviously I was dealing with some serious issues and feelings, but I wasn't completely a lost cause (like I felt I was). I still can hear her reply..."Lynn, you can change anything you need, you just have to do it one thing at a time." She was an amazing strength and comfort to me that night, and throughout the years. Ok, it does help that she is also a counselor with a whole lot of wisdom, but still basically I think the advice is true for anyone that is stuck in their life. I had to stop a lot of things in my life, so that I could de-clutter my mind and my life. I was good at doing lots of things ( not necessarily important things either), but staying busy so that I didn't have to stop and look at my life or behavior for what it was. By stopping... I had the time to take a good hard look at my life, my time, my habits, my thoughts, and my excuses.

That was a hard time in my life, but one that truly gave me back my life and also my control over my thoughts and decisions, it was empowering to say the least. Now I still have to have time outs in order to check myself, and make sure that I am not falling back into old habits or fears but like anything else ...the only way to truly change your life is to 1st ...recognize the need to change and 2nd... to just DO IT!

I hope by sharing this, it will help someone out there that is struggling with this very same problem.

"When I feel overwhelmed and my stress levels rise, I stop and step back from the situation and put the even in perspective. I always ask myself - what difference will this make in five years time? "   ~ Catherine Pulsifer

I loved this quote, good question to ask ourselves. If we don't do anything or try to change... then where will we be in 5 years? Will our life and the lives around us, be better or worse? Tough question but, we need to be asking them!

Just Do It

Author Elbert Hubbard told the story of an incident during the Spanish-American War. It was imperative that the president get a message to the leader of the insurgents. His name was Garcia and he was known to fighting somewhere in the mountains of Cuba, but no mail or telegraph could reach him. Someone said, "There's a fellow by the name of Rowan who will find Garcia for you if anybody can." Rowan took the letter without hesitation. He sealed it in a leather pouch strapped over his heart. He landed in the dark of night off the coast of Cuba and make his way to the mountains, and after much difficulty, found Garcia. He handed him the letter, turned around and headed home. Hubbard tells this story in "A Letter to Garcia." Rowan didn't ask, "Exactly where is he?" or "I doubt if I can do it." There was a job to be done and he did it. Instead of making a dozen excuses why you can't complete the task, think about Rowan. Deliver the goods!   ~ Author -Neil Eskelin/Elbert Hubbard

"When you do nothing, you feel overwhelmed and powerless. But when you get involved, you feel the sense of hope and accomplishment that comes from knowing you are working to make things better." ~ unknown

How quick are you going to get up?

I am watching the Winter Olympics with the family tonight and in one of the commercials that they keep showing  has this question How quick are you going to get up? that they keep singing in one of the songs. While the song is going on, they show the gold medalist's that have struggled and then they show them come back and win the gold. I admire these incredible athletes and their determination and discipline.

Some times I wonder how people get to places like that in their lives? I just would like to just do normal things, much less something big and amazing like this.

Today was my dental visit and it was pretty tough, so I have done nothing but lay around all day. Oh well, I just need to head to bed and start a new day tomorrow. Some times I wonder if I will ever get the chance to just plan out a normal day without some type of doctor appointment?  I guess for sure I need to head to bed because I am feeling bad and very sorry for myself right now. I need to keep things in perspective.

Good night dear friends, thanks for always being there!

"FAILURE WILL NEVER OVERTAKE ME IF MY DETERMINATION IS SUCCEED IS STRONG ENOUGH."                 ~ Og Mandino

 

“ WHEN YOU GET INTO A TIGHT PLACE AND EVERYTHING GOES AGAINST YOU, TILL IT SEEMS AS THOUGH YOU COULD NOT HOLD ON A MINUTE LONGER, NEVER GIVE UP THEN, FOR THAT IS JUST THE PLACE AND TIME THAT THE TIDE WILL TURN." ~ Harriet Beecher Stowe

RIsing to the occasion!

"We become more adept at rising to the occasion each time we see ourselves doing it. Every time we cope well with whatever real life throws our way, it's another deposit of confidence, creativity, and courage in our self-esteem account... When you need to rise to the occasion, do it with style. Do it with a knowing smile. Confound them. Astound yourself. Make it look easy, and it will become so." ~Sarah Breathnach

I found this quote and thought about how true it is. Every time we make a deposit of the 3 C's ( CONFIDENCE, CREATIVITY AND COURAGE ) it really does build up our self esteem and that has to be a good thing.

It is late and I think that I am just going to leave this quote with you, it's a bit deep but...I love it, it makes me want to take that challenge, to face whatever life throws at me. Thanks for supporting me, when I was too weak and scared to support myself. That's what friends are for right?    Night!

Determination = The Brooklyn Bridge

This is story is a bit long but well worth it. It is a great reminder for all of us (especially me) to never give  up!

Good night dear friends!

DETERMINATON

In 1883, a creative engineer named John Roebling was inspired by an idea to build a spectacular bridge connecting New York with the Long Island. However bridge building experts throughout the world thought that this was an impossible feat and told Roebling to forget the idea. It just could not be done. It was not practical. It had never been done before.

Roebling could not ignore the vision he had in his mind of this bridge. He thought about it all the time and he knew deep in his heart that it could be done. He just had to share the dream with someone else. After much discussion and persuasion he managed to convince his son Washington, an up and coming engineer, that the bridge in fact could be built.

Working together for the first time, the father and son developed concepts of how it could be accomplished and how the obstacles could be overcome. With great excitement and inspiration, and the headiness of a wild challenge before them, they hired their crew and began to build their dream bridge.

The project started well, but when it was only a few months underway a tragic accident on the site took the life of John Roebling. Washington was injured and left with a certain amount of brain damage, which resulted in him not being able to walk or talk or even move.

"We told them so."
"Crazy men and their crazy dreams."
"It`s foolish to chase wild visions."

Everyone had a negative comment to make and felt that the project should be scrapped since the Roeblings were the only ones who knew how the bridge could be built. In spite of his handicap Washington was never discouraged and still had a burning desire to complete the bridge and his mind was still as sharp as ever.

He tried to inspire and pass on his enthusiasm to some of his friends, but they were too daunted by the task. As he lay on his bed in his hospital room, with the sunlight streaming through the windows, a gentle breeze blew the flimsy white curtains apart and he was able to see the sky and the tops of the trees outside for just a moment.

It seemed that there was a message for him not to give up. Suddenly an idea hit him. All he could do was move one finger and he decided to make the best use of it. By moving this, he slowly developed a code of communication with his wife.

He touched his wife's arm with that finger, indicating to her that he wanted her to call the engineers again. Then he used the same method of tapping her arm to tell the engineers what to do. It seemed foolish but the project was under way again.

For 13 years Washington tapped out his instructions with his finger on his wife's arm, until the bridge was finally completed. Today the spectacular Brooklyn Bridge stands in all its glory as a tribute to the triumph of one man's indomitable spirit and his determination not to be defeated by circumstances. It is also a tribute to the engineers and their team work, and to their faith in a man who was considered mad by half the world. It stands too as a tangible monument to the love and devotion of his wife who for 13 long years patiently decoded the messages of her husband and told the engineers what to do.

Perhaps this is one of the best examples of a never-say-die attitude that overcomes a terrible physical handicap and achieves an impossible goal.

Often when we face obstacles in our day-to-day life, our hurdles seem very small in comparison to what many others have to face. The Brooklyn Bridge shows us that  that seem impossible can be realized with determination and persistence, no matter what the odds are.

"Even the most distant dream can be realized with determination and persistence."