Anybody can do it!

Chuck Swindoll writes: ‘The ski slopes were in perfect condition. I struck out on my first attempt at skiing with a positive attitude, thinking, “I’m going to be the first person who learns to ski without falling down.” You’ve heard of the Elephant Man? On skis, I’m the rhinoceros man. It’s doubtful that anyone ever came down a ski slope more ways, or landed in more positions, or did more creative things in the air before landing. Working with me that humiliating day was the world’s most encouraging ski instructor (yes, I had an instructor!). Never once did she lose her cool, or laugh at me, or say “You are absolutely impossible. I quit!” That dear, gracious lady helped me up more times than I can number. She repeated the same basics time and again – like she had never said them before. Even though I was colder than an explorer in the Antarctic, irritable, impatient, and under the snow more than I was on it, she kept offering words of reassurance. That day, God gave me a never-to-be-forgotten illustration of the value of encouragement. Had it not been for her spirit and her words, believe me, I would have hung ’em up and been back in the condo, warming my feet by the fire in less than an hour. What is true for a novice on the snow once a year is all the more true for people we meet every day. Harassed by demands and deadlines; bruised by worry, adversity and failure; broken by disillusionment, they live somewhere between dull discouragement and sheer panic. All of us need encouragement, and the beautiful part about encouragement is this: anybody can do it!’

Mr Peter Morphew
Chaplain