The challenges we face today are difficult and demanding. It takes continual effort to be the best we can be everyday. The story of Anne Sullivan should encourage us to keep going even when things are difficult. If her name doesn’t ring a bell, the student she taught will. Anne Sullivan was the tutor for Helen Keller. Helen Keller had an illness at the age of nineteen months of age that caused her to lose her sight and her hearing. Her parents took her to Perkins School for the blind and Anne Sullivan was assigned to work with her. The process was slow and Helen became frustrated, resistant, and even violently angry at times. Many teachers would have given up and lost patience, but Anne kept her composure and was persistent and patient. You know the rest of the story, Helen Keller went on to graduate from Howard University with honors having mastered several languages. God has given each of us ability for a reason. We are to use it to the fullest to help one another in life. (1 Timothy 4:4 For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving.) Some of the areas God chooses for us to use our talents are not the easiest tasks. During these present conditions, there is no better time to use the gifts God has given you. Whether it is in raising our children, helping neighbors in the community, serving in our church, or working on our jobs, there will be times our patience and persistence will be tested. Every task will not be easy, but you have the ability to make a difference in the world around you. I pray each of us will use the gift God has given us to serve others. Pastor Don [image: image.png]