Avoiding Difficulty: Letter to our Sons

A little background might be needed with this letter that Alan wrote to our sons several years ago.  Our family's income was cut in half, overnight, and Alan was faced to meet our immediate need to pay bills.  When he told me he was applying for an additional job at our local burger place (my surprise kept me silent).  Looking back now, it was such a rich experience (I did not say easy)...rich with learning. 

Dear Sons,
Last night I found myself in a position that caused me to wonder
whether or not I should actually be there.I could easily imagine a bus of hungry ball players pulling up to Hardee's and myself being alone in the kitchen.

There are at least two dozen different types of hamburgers, sandwiches and other specialty items on the menu.I did not have the right glasses, so I really couldn't see the computer monitor where the orders appear.Watching the guy who was the main cook last night, and not really understanding how he was doing it, gave me an opportunity to face something that I don't often deal with. FEAR!!!!


Yea - like "what have I done?" type of fear. Can I do this, will I
look foolish? What if some customer gets mad because I made a mistake or it took too long?


For a few moments, actually several times-I wondered to myself-did I make a mistake?

I experienced something you will encounter in your life - the desire to AVOID things that are difficult. We like it easy! When things are easy, we can always look good! We can do it well, quickly sometimes even the very first time.But if something is so easy nearly anyone can do it well right away-it's nothing to brag about.


You will learn that FEAR is a very powerful emotion.

It can paralyze you!It can cause you to surrender before you have really even been tested. If you give in to fear, you will be overcome by thoughts that you must learn to take captive.What do you do when you face FEAR?

- when your first thoughts are - "I won't be able to do this!"

You take that thought captive - by FAITH - and remember God's promise - "I CAN do all things through Christ who gives me strength." In addition to this, learn to recognize that the desire to avoid things that are DIFFICULT-is a trap that could limit you for the rest of your life.


Men who believed that they could learn to do anything, or overcome any difficulty are the men we enjoy reading about in history. They are the ones who attacked a problem many others could not solve-and their faith and determination changed the world around them.

If it were not for such men, we would not have things like cars, planes, computers, or cell phones.Christian men and women with this kind of faith and determination-opened doors for the gospel to travel around the world into places where others had never stepped foot before.


My challenge is not exactly the same as climbing Mt. Everest, but it is the one set before me today! If I don't overcome this one - I will be forced to look for something easier.

As you can see - if you are forced to always look for something easier - you will rob yourself of many opportunities that other men with faith and determination will get to experience while you are forced to wait in line with the thousands who all said-"I can't it's too hard!"


Don't look back, climb higher...


Dad