Examples of Perseverance:

George Washington, USS Squalus, Ben Hogan

The tragedy of life is not the wound because life is so constituted that the wound is inevitable! The tragedy comes when we quit or give up on life because of the wound - when we fall down and we can’t get up! There are times, however, when we simply must grit our teeth and say, "I may be down; but, I’m not out!"

Our first President of the United States of America, George Washington (1732 - 1799), fought nine (9) major battles in the Revolutionary War against the great British empire! He lost six (6) of the nine (9) battles; but, he kept on fighting and coming back until he won the war!

The story is told of the World War II American submarine, the USS SQUALUS (SS-192), which on 23 May 1939, while making practice dives at sea, sank and bottomed out on the ocean floor in 243 feet (79 kilometers) of water! Of the fifty-six (56) members of the crew that were onboard, twenty-six (26) were killed; but, thirty-three (33) were rescued and survived! It was a dismal end for that submarine’s career - however, on 13 September 1939, the USS SQUALUS (SS-192), was raised from the bottom, it was reconditioned, it was repaired and overhauled! On 15 May 1940, it was renamed the USS SAILFISH (SS-192), and battling, on 04 December 1943, the darkness, a typhoon, colossal waves and torrential rains, in the Pacific Ocean, went on to sink the Imperial Japanese Navy Ship (IJNS) Chuyo - an escort carrier! The submarine was awarded the "Presidential Unit Citation" for its meritorious action!

Then, there is the story of the late great American golfer, William Ben Hogan (1912 - 1997), whose car was hit by a bus - an accident which left him laying by the roadside wounded! A great career was ended, we thought! It was doubtful if he would ever walk again, let alone play golf! However, as soon as possible, he got braces and began to swing his golf clubs. It was a painful process; however, he kept on swinging and later came back to win both the United States Open and the British Open championships!

[Sources: "When The Heart Is Hungry," by Charles L. Allen, c1955 Westwood, New Jersey: Fleming H. Revell Company, pp. 70-75. "www.wikipedia.com," (USS SQUALUS SS-192), (USS SAILFISH SS-192), (IJNS Chuyo), accessed 28 October 2009; (Philip James Elliot), (Elisabeth Elliot), accessed 29 October 2009. From a sermon by George Dillahunty, Life’s Wounded Warriors!, 10/29/2009]