I write this letter to all Nigeria youths all over the country and beyond. I write this letter with the hope that it would be read and applied and not read and remain obstinate, and to all those that are numb to the problems that holds us captive in ignorant without hope of scaling through to reach to the zenith of our greatness. I write to all who pledge to their motherland with all their strength to be faithful, loyal and honest, to serve her and to defend her unity and uphold her honor, making God the witness. I write to all who holds my country to a high esteem and would gladly die for its course. I salute all who wants a positive change, who wants the best for this great nation, who would offer more than their best to the growth and development of the land. Finally, I hold in high esteem all those who make GOD the greatest priority to the development of a country.
I was still wondering why people uses the world IMPOSSIBLE as I surfed through the net. It was 2:15am and I was beginning to feel sleepy. Just then, I came across an article that made me regain my strength, the eagerness and enthusiasm I had wanted. The sleep had disappeared; I couldn’t feel it, not anymore. Was it because of the article or was it because I got what I was searching for-till now, it’s still a puzzle that is yet to be solved. Am I the first to see this was the first question that came to my mind but before I could answer, it disappeared leaving me hopeless. Then came the second that disappeared just as it came, like the flash of a camera. I made up my mind to wait for the next but before I could finish my sentences, it disappeared without even staying for a moment but this time, as prepared as I was, I heard and I listened. “Do people actually apply what they read”? This question came to me because with the kind of article I was looking at and reading without payment was enough to prove to anyone that impossible is possible.
I read of a boy who at the age of 8 raced into a burning school house to rescue his elder brother Floyd who was 10. Floyd died in the school house and when Glenn regained consciousness, the doctor recommended amputating his legs as he had lost all the flesh on his knees and shins and all the toes on his left foot. Also his transverse arch (an important part of his bone) was practically destroyed. The doctor predicted that he might not walk again. But young Glenn pleaded, he begged and because he was distressed, his parent would not allow it. Determined, coupled with hours of therapy, enabled him to gradually regain the ability to walk. It was two years after the accident. He had a positive attitude that there is no glory without a story. He knew that the strength was within and not some iron fixed to the legs. His favorite bible quote, Isaiah 40:31 “but those who wait on the lord shall renew their strengths, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint”, shows his strength in God. He could now walk but he wanted more and behold, he proceed to running.
This same 8 years old boy with determination and God won the Sullivan medal in 1932. In Olympics, he took the 4th place in the 1500m and in 1934; he set the world record for the mile run at 4:06.8 which stood for three years. In 1936, he set the world record again in the 800m run. This same boy set a world record again in the indoor mile run of 4:04.4.A boy who knew that there is nothing like impossible especially when with God.
After reading this, I just couldn’t stop thinking. I was stunned because it’s just rare to see the kind of determination Glenn Cunningham portrayed. I flashed back to the day I read a similar story but this time, about a grown-up who at 32 years was fired; attempted election to a legislative office and suffered defeat. At 33, he became bankrupt and at 34, he was elected to legislature. He lost his dear wife at 35 and broke down nervously at 36. At the age of 38, ha attempted speakership and lost the election and at 43, he failed Congress nomination. Fortunately for him, at 46, he secured a Congress ticket and lost the nomination at 48; at 49, he was rejected for land officer and he lost senatorial election and yet suffered another vice presidential nomination at 56. He was defeated for senate the second time at 58 and in 1860, this same man became the 16th president of the United States of America.
I keep asking myself this question, was he elected just to compensate him for his failures, was he elected so that he wouldn’t disturb them again, but the truth is obvious. Abraham Lincoln was determined. He removed the world IMPOSSIBLE from his vocabulary. His quote, “I am slow walker but I never stop” testify to this. Martin Luther King jnr. quoted Lincoln in his popular speech which he made at the steps of Lincoln monument.
Though am convinced at least with these stories and more, why do you still doubt? Believe me, I have taught deeply on this and I tell you, nothing can stand in your way to greatness; not even your parent, your age, your background or your handicap because God has made you great. To be candid, you have powers beyond imagination and the adversity you encounter is what really strengthens you. Bob Harrison made it clear that, “between you and anything significant, there must be giants in your paths”. And remember the observation of Martin Luther King jnr. that, “the utmost measure of a man is not where he stands in times of comfort and conveniences, but where he stands in time of challenges and controversies”. Nothing good comes easy because you will always have a story to tell at the end, but there is nothing that is IMPOSSIBLE when you are in alliance with GOD. You can do it if you believe you can.
Now that I have written to you to the glory of God, maybe, just maybe I won’t be thinking much on this or better still I won’t be thinking at all because I know you are informed and will help inform others. TOGETHER INDIVIDUALLY, we can make GREAT things HAPPEN.
At least NO MORE fast question to APPEAR and DISSAPPEAR!!!
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