Tough Times Don’t Last …Tough People Do.

I was never a tough guy way back then ….and certainly now drawing perilously close to 60 …..  I do not consider myself to be a tough guy now.

To many, being tough falls into two categories….acting tough….like some of those real mean guys in the movies or those guys  ”acting ” in WWE wrestling  , or  secondly having to endure tough times …. such as being under the control of someone  or people who really makes life difficult for you.

Interestingly as I search the origin of this word , always starting with my Bible as the first point of reference ….the word ” tough” is no where to be seen.

This is not to say that  life in Biblical times were not ” tough” it must have been  incredibly so.

But the word Tough had its origins in the year 900. I can’t tell you much more than that. The word tough has many descriptive applications….from the tough person, all the way through to describing a tough piece of steak.

Even going to the word Hard you would think there would be hundreds of references in the Bible …..I was surprised to see a mere 11 references. Maybe it is a fact of live that we all encounter times that are hard, or times that are tough. Maybe it is the norm for living and that when we have  the occasasional better times or good times we should count our blessings and be incredibly grateful for those times.

I was inspired just today to read of the life of a 23 year old young lady , who at the age of 16 told her parents she wanted to be like Mother Teresa . A lot of people say these things ( especially at  such a young age) but few actually follow them up.

What this attractive young lady did, was leave her family at 18 , a University future , a boyfriend and lots of her church and college  friends, and travel to one of the poorest parts of  the third world Uganda , which for 30 years had two  despotic dictators …some say the worst in world history .

In the last 5 years Katie Davis  she has been nurse , cook, employer, teacher, and friend to thousands.

She has built a program that sends more than 400 local children to school and feeds 1600 kids daily. Her ministry pulls desperate women out of  prostitution and gives them work.

Katie has adopted and become mother / older sister to 14 young girls ….many coming to her by ” accident” .

Her story and her Ministry is breathtaking.

Goggle the word  amazima and see her ministry.

This young lady is tough….she had to be….but in the softest most gentleness way possible.

All the odds were stacked against her, but not only did she survive , but she thrived!!! Her faith in God got her through, .. and that shines through her persona…. how can she fail to do what she is doing in one of the worlds most impoverished countries.

Some people call Katie Davis extreme….some even might use the words crazy, nutty or even wierd. A 23 year young woman raising 14 children on her own after all is not usual behaviour .

I think she is very   well grounded…she openly says that people should not just go on a whim and sell everything and  become missionaries in Africa….after all anyone can be missionaries right where they are.

She calls her self ordinary – an ordinary person serving an extraordinary God.

“Live life to the fullest she says…. It is available. All we have to do is to get up and embrace it.”

It is an inspiration to us all……

I will write again soon.

Lindsay Walker

24th April 2012.