How Small People Can Take on Big Giants

Some people are forced to come into this world as fighters. My sister, Beth, was one of them. Beth was born in 1966 with a cleft lip and pallet. She spent her life in and out of hospitals as they tried to repair the damage she was born with. In spite of it all, Beth had an incredible propensity to love and she was gifted with the heart of a champion.
From an early age, Beth knew that she wanted to be a nurse. Because of the love she had been shown by nurses as a child, she wanted to be there to help scared little girls and boys as they fought to overcome the health challenges they had been born with.
Beth fought her whole life. I do not remember a time that anything came easily to her, except when she loved. That was second nature to her. Beth fought for every good grade she collected, and she had many. She fought to be on honor roll. She fought to learn to play clarinet even with the deformities in her mouth, lip and nose. She fought to learn piano and to try to stay one step ahead of her younger sister (I didn’t let that happen!). She fought to keep the peace in our family which often meant she had to fight for her life as she placed herself dangerously between her two sisters.
I will never forget the year Beth was able to compete for the local Miss Teen pageant. This was a big deal for her because Beth was not confident in how she looked, and she certainly was not comfortable being in front of large groups of people. The memory of her coming out on stage and performing a flag routine to “Uptown Girl” by Billy Joel is a moment I will never forget. I do not think there was ever a time I was more proud of her. Beth placed 2nd in that competition. And with that accomplishment another fight was under her belt.
Beth continued to fight, establish and advance as she took on the countless giants that surrounded her small frame. The reason she saw so much victory was because in the midst of it all, she never stopped resisting the lure to quit. And trust me, she wanted to quit. She could have quit too. Everyone would have understood and no one would have faulted her because most people were ready to excuse her because of her challenges. She was determined to overcome though, so this small framed, petite girl grew into a woman with a big dream and an uncompromising belief that she would accomplish what she had set out to do, and that was to obtain her degree in nursing.
I have never witnessed more resistance than I did as Beth struggled through nursing school. Every time she came home, my mother and I would have to convince her to go back. She would cry and refuse, but by the time Sunday afternoon rolled around, she would stick her chin up in the air, swing her head around and drive back to school where she would take on her giant one more week.
Beth passed her nursing exam. She was able to find a great job at a reputable hospital, but Beth decided to continue striving for excellence. She was accepted at another local school and worked while she obtained her Bachelors in Nursing. As if this was still not enough, she took on another giant and headed back to school for her Master’s degree. I would like to say she accomplished this goal, but on December 22, 1992, Beth fought her last fight. This champion, my champion, went on to be with Jesus after being killed in a car accident. The victory was still hers though. She had fought the desire to rebel against God and had won. She had established herself as a Christian in her life. She had advanced the kingdom by sharing her faith with others. And she had resisted the temptation to turn away from the God she loved and served.
How could someone so small take on such big giants? She never let fear determine her future. Beth was a champion because no matter how bad her circumstances looked, she only saw her outcome, and she learned early on that champions become champions by resisting the desire to return to normal.

Learn from this champion of champions, and step out today towards your giant.  Stick your chin up in the air, look that giant in the eyes and scream out with all the passion you can muster, “Who is that uncircumcised Philistine?” Do it now!  Your destiny is waiting!!

Click to Hear Rod’s Song: “In My Dreams”

Excerpt from: Fear – The Four Letter Word
©2009 Carrie C. Stone