Daily Devotion

October 23, 2013

Dealing with Adversity (1)


“Is your life full of difficulties and temptations? Then be happy.” Jas 1:2 TLB

Lori Schneider is one of very few women to climb Mt. Everest—yet another step on a climb she started ten years earlier when she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Terrified, but determined to achieve her goal, she quit her job and devoted herself to climbing. Nine years later she’d conquered the peaks on six of the earth’s continents! “Lori sees MS not as a negative, but a positive,” her father said. “She accepted it as a challenge.” Unfurling a banner in honor of the first World MS Day, she called her dad on a satellite phone: “I’m here on the summit! I made it!” A dream sixteen years in the making realized! Now her goal is to show others who face challenges that even the highest mountain can be climbed one step at a time. In Staying the Course, BJ Gallagher writes: “Our journey…is about progress, not perfection. It’s not about doing one thing 100 percent better—it’s doing 100 things 1 percent better each day. Progress is evolutionary, not revolutionary…most days we measure in inches, not miles. What matters most is showing up for your life whether you feel like it or not. Ask yourself, ‘What two or three little things can I do today that would move me forward?’ You’ll be amazed how much distance you can cover taking it in increments. Little things add up; inches turn to miles. We string together our efforts like so many pearls, and before long…you have a whole strand!”

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