Most everyone I have ever known has had aspirations, that is, there is something that they really wanted to do in their life. But! They could never bring themselves to take the leap, even though it was pretty obvious to those around them that they could probably do it. They were smart and talented, capable enough to do what they dreamed of and more; yet they never worked up the nerve to move forward with their dream. Why? Because they were fettered by something in their past that told them to play it safe and not to take chances. If they were to take a chance at something they may possibly fail at, they may lose what they have. They may even lose face and be embarrassed. What a tragedy! I remember reading a story that seems to describe their fear. “As a man was passing the elephants, he suddenly stopped, confused by the fact that these huge creatures were being held by only a small rope tied to their front leg. No chains, no cages. It was obvious that the elephants could, at anytime, break away from their bonds, but for some reason, they did not. He saw a trainer nearby and asked why these animals just stood there and made no attempt to get away. “Well,” the trainer said, “When they are very young and much smaller, we use the same size rope to tie them, and at that age, it’s enough to hold them. As they grow up, they are conditioned to believe they cannot break away. They believe the rope can still hold them, so they never try to break free.” The man was amazed. These animals could at any time break free from their bonds, but because they believed they couldn’t, they were stuck right where they were.” Many very capable people, like the elephant, are constrained by an insignificant restraint that if they could once break away from, they would be free forever to soar to great heights. But like an eagle with a broken wing, they hobble around on the ground the rest of their lives. They have never been taught to understand one important truth: that “failure is part of learning.” We should never give up the struggle in life, for fear that we may fail at some small aspect of it. We become content to live a life that is without the excitement and the challenge that it could have been. Opportunities can even be created for us, but no one can make us take advantage of them. Even when, like a horse, we may be led to water, but there is absolutely no one who can make us drink.
Some of us change paths when the road becomes too difficult, choosing instead a path that is not so steep and rugged, or even reversing directions, entirely. Jeremiah, the prophet, could have made excuses, and he had enough difficulty as a prophet of God to consider some alternatives. But he could not turn away from the thing the Lord had commanded him to do. Though he was beaten and humiliated, he did and said what he was commanded to do. Like Jeremiah, we have a destiny as well. We have been given talents, and if they are not used properly, those talents will be taken away or be lost to us forever. We all want to be remembered in life for having accomplished something of value, but we wouldn’t want to have our legacy questioned at the end of our life as the following person was: “An old man had passed on. A wonderful funeral was in progress, and the country preacher talked at length of the good traits of the deceased—what an honest man he was, and what a loving husband and a kind father he was. Finally, the widow leaned over and whispered to one of her children, “Go up there and take a look in that coffin and see if that’s your pa.” It would be wonderful to have the things that are said about us at our funeral to be true. Most of us have so much more capability than we actually use. It is sad to see talent wasted through fears of not being successful. If we would all just say, “If it is meant to be, it is up to me,” then go and do it.