The excitement hangs heavy in the air as the championship game is about to begin.  The big kids are about to take the court and enter into battle in a game of beach volleyball.  I take my eye off the participants of this final game to see my young friend clinging to the bottom of the net and dreaming of the day when he will be the one diving into the sand or spiking the ball. 

        They call my youthful warrior Little D.  I love the look on his face.  I felt like I could read his mind as he watched the grown-ups prepare to walk onto the sand and begin the game.  I could sense the doubt and dismay in his expression as he wondered if he would ever be big enough or strong enough to play in such an important game.  I love the fact that even if Little D was not big enough to play in the game, he still walked onto the sand, grabbed the net and dreamed of the day when he would play.

        Have you ever felt like Little D?  Have you ever had to wait on the sideline and watch as someone else got the promotion you had been dreaming of?  Have you been forced to stand in the shadows and watch the talented people get all the attention?  Have you been wondering if you will ever be strong enough to play in the big game?  Today, you may be hanging onto the net and looking at all the obstacles standing between you and your goals and feeling defeated.

        The rejection you feel today is like the sand in the oyster; the irritant that ultimately produces the pearl.  The difficulties and problems we face in life are a grindstone; whether they grind you down or polish you up depends on what you’re made of.  The great challenge of life as well as great opportunities are determined not so much by what life brings to you as by the attitude you bring to life.  The only difference between stumbling blocks and stepping- stones is the way you use them.  Choose to get into the game and make the most of this day.

Something to think about:

• The wise man doesn’t expect to find life worth living; he makes it that way.

• Yesterday is a canceled check; tomorrow is a promissory note; today is the only cash you have—spend it wisely.

• Weak men wait for opportunities—strong men make them.

• All the flowers of all the tomorrows are in the seed of today.

• To travel hopefully is better than to arrive.

• The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want and, if they can’t find them, make them.

• We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations.

• The lure of the distant and the difficult is deceptive. The great opportunity is where you are.

• Opportunities are usually disguised as hard work, so most people don’t recognize them.

• Never think you could do something if only you had a different lot and sphere assigned you. What you call hindrances, obstacles, discouragements, are probably great opportunities.

Your best race has yet to be run…
Rickey Moore