Inspired

Sunday night I found myself restless and unable to sleep. I turned on the tv and happened upon the movie "In Pursuit of Happyness" again. It is a great film that runs the gammet of emotions and boy was I blessed. Christopher Gardner is a man who was born into a life filled with challenges and a mother who told him "if you want to, one day you could make a million dollars." He believed her despite the absence of a father in his life and spending time in and out of foster homes as circumstances unfolded. But he credits his mother with instilling "strong spiritual genetics" and some of the greatest lessons of his life that he still calls upon and lives by. His wife, who had stopped believing in him, left him and he insisted on keeping their young (pre-K) son so that he would not grow up without a father. They struggled. The challenges were many. Each time he would start to get a leg up (some money in the bank) something would happen that would knock his feet from beneath him again. They found themselves homeless during his internship at Dean Witter, yet he performed flawlessly and with an attitude that would cause many of us to blush as we relax in homes with many rooms. He was the only intern in 1981 to be offered a position (and most likely the only trainee that did not sport a college education). He is the CEO of Chris Gardner International holdings with offices in New York, San Francisco and Chicago. In 2006 he sold his portion in the Gardner & Rich partnership for several million dollars.

There is a point where he tries to gently tell his son not to take too much hope in making it big as a basketball player as he had not been so grand. You see Chris Junior's face fall. Upon realizing the effect of his words on his son, he turned to him and said, "Don't you ever let anyone tell you that you can't do something - even if it's me." WOW!!! The strength of those words coming from a father!

"Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to those who love Him...Every good thing bestowed and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting of shadow." (James 1:12, 17)

How amazing! There is no variation in God. He bestows every good and perfect gift from above. I am inspired by Chris Gardner, but hold to the promise of our Lord God. Every day is a new day with the promise of a new beginning...and a new tomorrow.

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