It is well said: "Strength and courage aren't always measured in medals
and victories. They are measured in the struggles we overcome. The strongest
people aren't always the people who win but the people who don't give up when
they lose."
It's been said that Andrew Jackson's boyhood friends just couldn't understand
how he became a famous general and then the President of the United States. They
knew of others who had greater talent but who never succeeded. One of Jackson's
friends commented, "Why, Jim Brown, who lived right down the pike from Jackson,
was not only smarter, but he could throw Andy three times out of four in a
wrestling match. But look where Andy is now."
Another friend responded, "How did there happen to be a fourth time? Don't they
usually say three times and out?"
"Sure, they were supposed to, but not Andy. He would never admit he was beat -
he would never stay 'throwed.'
Jim Brown would get tired, and on the fourth try Andy would throw him and be the
winner."
Andrew Jackson just wouldn't stay "throwed"! And that determination served him
well for many years.
Life will knock us off our feet again and again. You've been there and so have
I. But some people just won't stay "throwed." They get up again, dust themselves
off and go for it one more time. These are people of courage and unlimited
determination.
Maybe you have been knocked off your feet.
Will you stay "throwed," or will you rise and give it your best one more time?