Tenacity and the Army

As we were leaving Alabama Friday afternoon, I got a front row seat to see the perfect picture of dreaming lived out in real-time.

The
Chicago team was tasked to help out around base camp.  One of the tasks
was to finish the roof of the porch of the training facility.  Soon,
they realized that all the ladders were gone but a short 6-footer.  Not
tall enough to reach the roof.

I confess, I would have given up then and done something else.  But, there were not
going to give up.  I saw them trying a few different things.  Finally,
they backed the refuse truck up, put the 6 foot ladder on the bed, and
it was just tall enough to reach the roof.

The word that came to mind was, “TENACITY“.

I thought, “Now THAT is what it takes to live out your dream.  You don’t stop and you don’t give up.”  Their tenacity spoke volumes to me.

I thought that was the end of the story.

A little while later a large group of people
from Mississippi drove up.  One of the women I spoke to said, “We had a
lot of help after Katrina, we’re just returning the favor.”

That’s
when a saw the right ladder for the job go up and about 6-7 guys scurry
up to the roof to help.  The camp go very loud with hammering and men
talking about how to finish the job.

Everything
was against getting the job done – it was 93 degrees and brutally hot,
they didn’t have all the right tools, they didn’t have enough help, but
the job needed to get done.   They committed to it.  They started out
with what they had and kept at it.

Soon, God sent an army with the right tools to get the job done. 

That’s
how it is with dreaming.  You don’t think you have all you need.  The
task seems overwhelming.  All the odds seem stacked against you – but
you make the commitment to see it through.  You keep going.  And God
sends the army.

“The
LORD is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am
helped; my heart exults,and with my song I give thanks to him.”  Psalm
28:7