A young woman named Deborah was in her first year of college when she found herself pregnant and alone. After she had her baby and tried to continue her classes, one of her professor’s told her that it was hard enough to pass his class as a regular student with no other responsibilities and would be nearly impossible with a newborn baby.
Deborah had already been warned that she would likely have to give up track and field, which meant that she would likely lose her scholarship and be forced to quit school.
Where many people would have given up, Deborah was determined to keep her baby and create a future for them both. She decided to take one day at a time and vowed to keep running and still do well in her classes. Every morning Deborah took her baby with her to an indoor track and practiced.
If Deborah wasn’t on the track, she was either studying or caring for her baby. She trained hard and maintained her scholarship. In spite of the emotional hardships she struggled with as a young mother, her daily choices were either to give up or to fight. The more often Deborah chose to fight, the more consistently successful she was, until that day when she held her baby in her arms as she received her honours degree. All because she made the choice never to allow quitting to be an option. To wake up every morning prepared to fight rather than believing ‘nearly impossible’.
What desire is in your heart right now? Why not follow it?
Psalm 20:4 – May He give you the desires of your heart and make all your plans succeed.
Carol
This story was taken from the book “Teens With the Courage to Give: Young People Who Triumphed over Tragedy and Volunteered to Make a Difference” by Jackie Waldman
