The city dump.

That’s what it was that day in 1904 when a young black woman, Mary McCloud Bethune, saw it. Nevertheless, she and other willing hands built a shack on that desolate place, for she had a dream that, with God’s help, she could help other black women learn to read and write. The first desks were wooden packing crates; the ink was blackberry juice.

As I wandered among the collection of tall buildings, classrooms and dormitories that is now Bethune-Cookman College, I stopped at a plain stone that marks the place where Mrs. Bethune’s body was laid to rest at the age of seventy-nine. It had taken more than half a century for her dream to become a reality. The words carved on that stone told her whole story:

“She has given her best so that others might live a more abundant life.”

-Walter Harter


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People who play
it too safe take the greatest risks. Did you know that? In the long haul, the
intelligent risk takers develop the greatest security. It’s a wise person who
learns the importance of risk taking.

During World War
II, psychologist E. Paul Torrance made a study of United States aces flying
in the Pacific theater of operations. He reported that the most salient characteristic
of the ace was his risk-taking ability. Throughout his life, he had kept testing
the limits of his abilities. And the life histories of these men showed that
they were highly resistant to accidents, and in combat they suffered fewer casualties
than pilots who were inclined to play it safe. Dr. Torrance said, “Living
itself is a risky business. If we spent half as much time learning how to take
risks as we spend avoiding them, we wouldn’t have nearly so much to fear in
life.”

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Sermons Illustrated


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