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Tuesday Morning Epistles
Welcome to "Tuesday Morning"—always containing words of
encouragement for Christians everywhere.
The Battle of San Juan Hill in the Spanish-American war
is as much legend as it was fact. It took place on July
1, 1898 near Santiago de Cuba. The actual location of
the battle was San Juan Heights, but the American Press
popularized it to the point that the name was changed to
San Juan Hill. The fight was the bloodiest of the war.
More important for Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt, the
battle provided the setting for a huge victory for the
United States. As a thirty-nine-year-old, Roosevelt was
second-in-command of a group nicknamed the "Rough
Riders," a volunteer regiment of western cowboys,
collegians, and sons of prominent citizens who were part
of the cavalry positioned to the rear of two regiments
of foot soldiers, mostly African-Americans, poised to
take the hill and defeat the Spanish army.
The ascent up San Juan Hill was hard and the fighting
fierce. At one point, in frustration over the
slow-going, Roosevelt rode his horse, Texas, to the
front of the battle, exposing himself to gunfire. The
foot-soldiers struggled up the grassy slope and were
nearly stopped short of the summit, but when they saw
the bravery of Roosevelt and some of his "Rough Riders,"
they continued to the top and sustained their position
until the battle was won. For his unusual bravery,
Roosevelt was recommended for the Congressional Medal of
Honor, but politics temporarily intervened and the
nomination was denied. Later it was granted.
An international hero, Roosevelt was elected Governor of
New York in 1899, Vice President of the United States in
1901, and at the untimely death of President William
McKinley in September of that year, Roosevelt succeeded
McKinley as President, where he served until 1909.
One of the many qualities that characterized the person
of Teddy Roosevelt was his persistence. And that is one
of the sub-topics of this week's "Tuesday Morning." The
title is "Discouragement Gone." It is attached. Continue
reading below whenever you are ready, and then prepare
for a week where God helps you find a way to overcome
the times of discouragement that sometimes overtake
Christians in their walk with God.
Tom Barnard
A Senior Encourager
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Discouragement Gone Tom Barnard
eather in
From my office window I can see the Pin-oak trio of trees in the neighbor’s front yard to our west. For the past four weeks they have been gradually turning from green to red and now to a brownish-red. I wish they would stay a bit longer; they are so beautiful. They will be among the last of the leaves to fall.
November is one of those in-between months. Summer has gone, of course. This year we didn’t even have what locals call “Indian Summer.” Summer lasted and lasted, and then a cold front from the northwest served to remind us that it was time to break out the leather jackets.
Geese spend the summer on our lake, causing irritation to residents and resulting in messy-looking lawns that front the water. Geese can’t fly well in the summer, as they lose their old feathers and grow new ones. But in November they fly wherever they want to fly, honking their way across our neighborhood—seldom landing anywhere but the water.
There is something else that comes for a November visit. Discouragement arrives. Summer’s vacation trips are behind. Winter is still ahead, with fresh snow to remind us of creation’s natural beauty. But annual plants die in November. Beauty disappears. Bermuda grass turns dull green and then brown. The falling leaves measure our moods. Arthur Gordon calls November a “tricky” month. “There are sparkling days when spirits soar, days with polished blue-porcelain skies and drifting crimson and golden leaves. But then there can be chill, damp, gray days when winter creeps down like some malevolent beast.”
In November I like to revisit the Book of Lamentations. Can good news be found there? Of course. Good news is present in every book of the Bible. Here’s a sample: “I called upon thy name, O Lord, out of the low dungeon. Thou hast heard my voice: Hide not thine ear at my breathing, at my cry” (3:55, 56).
An older lady in church was
asked if she had a special way to deal with discouragement.
Her answer was perfect. “Discouragement? Oh, sure, it comes
to me from time to time. But I fend it off with my three
P’s—Patience, Persistence, and Prayer.” (1985 Daily
Guideposts,
For some of us, trouble seems
to come to stay. One set-back follows another. Physicians
call these things “chronic”—always there to remind us of our
limitations. Someone has called this “a pain where a pill
won’t reach.” Does that describe you? Thought so.
Exercise patience! St. Francis of
Humans learn persistence
at a very early age. When we can’t climb over a barrier or
circumvent it, the only choice—and often the best choice—is
to go through it. Do you recall from history Teddy
Roosevelt and his “Rough Riders”—the guy who led the charge
to take
Why is prayer mentioned last in our list of things to do? Maybe because it is human nature to try to solve problems before reading the directions. Commenting on the importance of prayer, Arthur Gordon said, “I don’t think you have to pray specifically for the strength to fend off discouragement. If you pray about anything, strength comes.” Where did he get that idea? Jesus said it in John 14:14. “And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father.” Our problem is that when we are discouraged, we are reluctant to pray. God welcomes our prayers. He has promised to answer. |