The 960th Try is the Charm
Posted by Richard Harris | | Posted On Friday, May 21, 2010 at 2:50 AM
They are going to miss Cha Sa-soon at the driver’s license agency in Jeonju, South Korea. The 69 year old had been almost a daily visitor ever since April of 2005. But they won’t be seeing her anymore, she finally got what she came for; her driver’s license.
Perseverance and persistence should be Cha Sa-soon’s middle names; she has plenty of both and finally last month it paid off. In South Korea you have to pass a written test before you can get your driver’s license and on her 960th try she finally passed it.
The news agency quoted her as saying she wanted to get a used car so she could go and visit her son and daughter as well as use it for her small vegetable business. My only hope is that she drops by the driver’s license agency to visit the friends she must have made while spending time there over the last five years.
Let me confess that I would have given up somewhere around try number 14 and I would have been very close to a mental breakdown no later than try number 29. I tip my hat to Cha Sa-soon; in a world that encourages you to give it up she kept her head up and reached her goal.
You may be a teacher working hard to make the world a better place and give kids a bright future. It may seem like there is more bureaucratic hassle and parent apathy than positive results yet you stay at it; look again, positive results are out there. Perhaps you are a parent of a preschooler and it just does not seem to be getting through, the days are frustrating and the night tiring yet you lovingly stay at it, nice job, positive rewards are just around the corner.
Maybe you’re a minister of a small church among mega churches; the results seem small or nonexistent, don’t fall into the trap of comparison and don’t be fooled if God is in it good things are happening. Maybe you had a dream to start a business but it has been slow going at first and most months the bills outnumber the income, hang in there.
Perhaps you’re raising a teenager while caring for a parent, or you’re waiting for the right mate, or working hard to get through school while raising a family. You may be up to your ears in frustration and heartache; remember our friend Sa-soon and her persistence but more importantly lean on God to see you through.
Failure can affect your self esteem if you are living by the worlds standards, don’t do it. Lay you’re self worth at the feet of the Savior who gives way more than 960 chances (thank goodness) and the one who created you with a purpose and plan. The Bible holds many examples of those who stayed the course in spite of delay or disappointment; here are just two.
1) Moses stood in exile for 40 years before returning to lead the people out of captivity at 80 years of age.
2) David’s heart desire was to build a temple for God but he was not allowed; instead he made preparations for his son to build it.
** Not buying all this ‘don’t give up stuff’; life getting on your last nerve? I understand trust me the one behind the keyboard has seen plenty of failure. Frustration, failure and disappointment are best understood in the light of the Heavenly Father and His word.
1) God has a purpose: Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you, “declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
2) God desire for us is greater than we can even imagine: Ephesians 3:20, “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,”
3) What God starts He finishes: Philippians 1:6, “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”
4) You are a wonderful creation of the living God: Psalm 139:14, “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”
5) God had a work planned for you before you were even born: Ephesians 2:10, “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
6) Stop doing it on your own: Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
Prayer: Dear Lord, Help us to believe your Word, in Christ Name, Amen.
Perseverance and persistence should be Cha Sa-soon’s middle names; she has plenty of both and finally last month it paid off. In South Korea you have to pass a written test before you can get your driver’s license and on her 960th try she finally passed it.
The news agency quoted her as saying she wanted to get a used car so she could go and visit her son and daughter as well as use it for her small vegetable business. My only hope is that she drops by the driver’s license agency to visit the friends she must have made while spending time there over the last five years.
Let me confess that I would have given up somewhere around try number 14 and I would have been very close to a mental breakdown no later than try number 29. I tip my hat to Cha Sa-soon; in a world that encourages you to give it up she kept her head up and reached her goal.
You may be a teacher working hard to make the world a better place and give kids a bright future. It may seem like there is more bureaucratic hassle and parent apathy than positive results yet you stay at it; look again, positive results are out there. Perhaps you are a parent of a preschooler and it just does not seem to be getting through, the days are frustrating and the night tiring yet you lovingly stay at it, nice job, positive rewards are just around the corner.
Maybe you’re a minister of a small church among mega churches; the results seem small or nonexistent, don’t fall into the trap of comparison and don’t be fooled if God is in it good things are happening. Maybe you had a dream to start a business but it has been slow going at first and most months the bills outnumber the income, hang in there.
Perhaps you’re raising a teenager while caring for a parent, or you’re waiting for the right mate, or working hard to get through school while raising a family. You may be up to your ears in frustration and heartache; remember our friend Sa-soon and her persistence but more importantly lean on God to see you through.
Failure can affect your self esteem if you are living by the worlds standards, don’t do it. Lay you’re self worth at the feet of the Savior who gives way more than 960 chances (thank goodness) and the one who created you with a purpose and plan. The Bible holds many examples of those who stayed the course in spite of delay or disappointment; here are just two.
1) Moses stood in exile for 40 years before returning to lead the people out of captivity at 80 years of age.
2) David’s heart desire was to build a temple for God but he was not allowed; instead he made preparations for his son to build it.
** Not buying all this ‘don’t give up stuff’; life getting on your last nerve? I understand trust me the one behind the keyboard has seen plenty of failure. Frustration, failure and disappointment are best understood in the light of the Heavenly Father and His word.
1) God has a purpose: Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you, “declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
2) God desire for us is greater than we can even imagine: Ephesians 3:20, “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,”
3) What God starts He finishes: Philippians 1:6, “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”
4) You are a wonderful creation of the living God: Psalm 139:14, “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”
5) God had a work planned for you before you were even born: Ephesians 2:10, “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
6) Stop doing it on your own: Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
Prayer: Dear Lord, Help us to believe your Word, in Christ Name, Amen.
