A young man by the name of Parker Byrd is a baseball player for East Carolina University; my alma mater (Go Pirates!) His dream was to play baseball at the collegiate level and it was all about to come true when a boating accident resulted in an injury to his leg and the leg had to be amputated. He could easily have given up his dream and quit; but he didn’t. He suffered through many surgeries but this spring, a year later than expected, he wore the purple and gold and walked onto the field to bat in a game for the Pirates. Quitting was not an option for him. His motto is that every day he strives to be “one percent “better than he was the day before. What an amazing young man! His story has encouraged me.
I’ll admit that some days it is much easier to just give up, be discouraged and sit when you are faced with adversity. Or is it? I can promise you that nothing good comes from doing that. You don’t get better without putting forth some effort. Is it hard? Absolutely! It’s in the process of putting forth the effort that you realize that you’re a lot stronger than you think you are. And really, one percent is an attainable goal for everybody. My challenge to you is this… don’t let the negative things that happen rule your life. Accept them for what they are, have a goal for dealing with it and then make progress towards it; one percent at a time. Just ask Parker Byrd; he’ll tell you it’s worth it.
Blessings, Cindy J