January 20, 2012

Don't Quit!


Many years ago two men, a father and his son, were planting wheat during the fall season in a remote part of Kansas. Actually, it was very remote, the population of the county in which they lived numbered less than 1,800 souls. They had nearly 2,000 acres of wheat to plant on various plots of land scattered over a 20 mile square area, many of which were far from paved roads. In fact, there were only TWO paved roads in the entire county, which was dominated instead with gravel roads that were maintained by county employees. But there was ONE plot of land that was so isolated, so far removed from the rest their land, that it required careful planning when they transported their equipment there each year to sow next year’s precious crop. Reason being, it was accessible by only two graveled roads, both of which were several miles away, and as always, they had to keep a watchful eye out on the weather, since the last leg to their destination was by rutted trail roads.

In that part of the country and that time of year, thunderstorms could pop up at any moment, unleashing their fury with vast amounts of rain. If one should happen to move in on them before they could get out and dumped too much rain, they would be literally stuck there, since their equipment was far too heavy to move. Even a four-wheel drive vehicle would prove useless.

And sure enough, just as they were finishing their last rounds during a hot and humid late afternoon in August, mother nature reared her head with one of most ominous clouds either had ever seen. They knew what was coming. They didn’t have much time. They knew they had to work quickly in order to escape. They had a 48 foot planter, a 280 HP tractor, a 1 ½ ton truck heavily laden with wheat seed, and a ¾ ton pickup, all of which had to be hastily prepared for the trip out. The son helped his father attach the planter to the tractor into “road” position, then scrambled back to the pickup which he then bolted to the back of the truck by means of a hitch. The father would then lead the way out in the tractor, lugging the planter behind it, while the son followed closely behind with the truck and pickup.

The process to do all this normally took 45 minutes, but they knew mother nature wouldn’t allow that. The son kept asking his father, “What will we do if we get stuck here?” The father simply said, “Stop talking, just keep going!” They completed their job in 20 minutes flat. But by the time they were on the move, it had already started raining. Worse, one of the 12 transport tires on the planter was nearly flat. They had to keep going, communicating with one another via two-way radio. The fastest they could travel was 12 MPH and judging by the speed of the approaching storm, it would be right on their tails for the next 12 miles until they could reach a paved road. They didn’t waste a second. Fortunately, they made it. And just as they reached their destination, which was bordered by one of the only two paved roads in the county, the clouds opened up. Breathing a huge sigh of relief, the son jumped out of the truck, meeting his father who had come down from the tractor. Standing there in the pouring rain, the father grinned, looked at his son, and said, “You made it! You did it. You didn’t quit!”

That’s just one of many stories the son experienced while growing up on the plains of Western Kansas, a place unfit for the timid or weak. A place where “hard work” is a normal part of everyday life. A place that developed a character that said, “Never give up, give it your all, keep going, and don’t EVER quit.” And it reminds the writer of this story of this special piece, one that it is hoped, along with the story you just read, that regardless of who you are, where you are, or whatever difficult circumstances you may find yourself in, there’s ALWAYS a way out, there’s ALWAYS a light at the end of your tunnel…..
When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you’re trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest, if you must, but don’t you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about,
When he might have won had he stuck it out;
Don’t give up though the pace seems slow–
You may succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than,
It seems to a faint and faltering man,
Often the struggler has given up,
When he might have captured the victor’s cup,
And he learned too late when the night slipped down,
How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out–
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far,
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit–
It’s when things seem worst that you must not quit.

~ Author unknown

2 comments:

Bubs said...

Marvellous! And OH SO TRUE!
THIS IS A WONDERFUL PATH TO FAITH!

Thank you for sending this to me

Bond 007 said...

My pleasure "Bubs!"