These are the words in the chorus of a favorite country music song of mine. This song is about the day to day struggles of average people who, through hard work, self-motivation and perseverance, accomplish great things in their lives. The first person is a woman who works long hours as a waitress in a restaurant in order to pay for a college education for her son. It goes on to tell about how worthwhile her efforts were for her on that proud day when he graduated with a degree. The next verse talks about a young soldier with a prosthetic leg who just returned home from the war, and how he painstakingly trains for a marathon. As predictable as country songs are, you can guess the rest of the verse because he finished that marathon and accomplished his goal. Adversity was not his enemy, but a catalyst for greatness.

I’m sharing this with you because I truly believe we all need to experience a little adversity in our lives in order to be able to enjoy the pleasure and gratification of having reached a goal. Personally speaking, right now I’m training for a half-marathon that I’m running in March. Recently I’ve been having some foot pain that has made training a little uncomfortable and worrisome because I am concerned that I might not be able to complete the race or, worse yet, not be able to run at all.

I have to admit that I was feeling a bit sorry for myself the other day at the gym, as I started the treadmill so that I could run a few miles. I was definitely not feeling at all motivated to run when I caught sight of Jerry, a middle-aged man who had suffered a stroke a few years ago. His left hand is permanently clenched in a fist and his legs don’t work very well. Nevertheless, he had the biggest, brightest smile on his face as he awkwardly clamored around the track for his cardiovascular workout. To my right was John, a very overweight gentleman with a Santa Claus-like beard and a demeanor that makes you want to walk up to him and say hello, because you know that talking to him is going to make you feel good. Because he has difficulty bending over, John was really struggling to change into his sneakers. He worked patiently and diligently for almost five minutes, but he finally got those sneakers on and began a slow and steady walk on the treadmill — a goal he had set for himself that day and one that he would accomplish.

Lastly, I noticed an elderly gentlemen in a wheel chair with an oxygen hose attached to his face. As he breathed in the oxygen, he went through some gentle strength training exercises with a trainer who patiently assisted him in the movements. What would seem very simple to you or me was a huge task for this man to accomplish, yet he did so. And you could tell that he was so proud when he finished. He persevered until he was successful and he felt good about it.

My foot pain suddenly seemed pretty insignificant and unimportant. I thought about how blessed I am to have a strong and healthy body that allows me to run for miles. I also thought about how blessed I was on that particular day that God opened my eyes to the challenges that others face just to perform simple tasks — ones that I take for granted. Maybe He was trying to let me know that I should not do so, because circumstances can change in the blink of an eye. When God gives you a mountain, do your best to climb it with a strong spirit and deliberate effort because, in the end, the rewards will be great and the feeling of accomplishment … indescribable.