To all those who made it through to the next round, CONGRATULATIONS! Enjoy the success and indulge in unbridled hope. You deserve it for having the courage to enter. I hope your dreams come true.
But this post is also for the discouraged entrants who didn't make it to the semi-final round.
I remember, in the midst of my celebration last year, reading Katie Ganshert's blog about never being a Genesis finalist. She proved that you can not final and still succeed. Her book is scheduled to be released next month! Wildflowers From Winter
For those of you struggling on your results, I offer this hope. I figure it's not just irony that put this poem in my head today, but rather God's perfect timing.
The video sets the words to pictures and music. The actual words are below.
DON'T QUIT
When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you’re trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest, if you must, but don’t you quit.
When the road you’re trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest, if you must, but don’t you quit.
Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about,
When he might have won had he stuck it out;
Don’t give up though the pace seems slow–
You may succeed with another blow.
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about,
When he might have won had he stuck it out;
Don’t give up though the pace seems slow–
You may succeed with another blow.
Often the goal is nearer than,
It seems to a faint and faltering man,
Often the struggler has given up,
When he might have captured the victor’s cup,
And he learned too late when the night slipped down,
How close he was to the golden crown.
It seems to a faint and faltering man,
Often the struggler has given up,
When he might have captured the victor’s cup,
And he learned too late when the night slipped down,
How close he was to the golden crown.
Success is failure turned inside out–
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far,
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit–
It’s when things seem worst that you must not quit.
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far,
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit–
It’s when things seem worst that you must not quit.
- Unknown Author
And because I love conversation, I'd love to hear your thoughts on perseverance.
My favorite quote that keeps me going is this one:
“A professional writer is an amateur who didn't quit.” Richard Bach
As a final prep, my class read and wrote about a poem called Don't Quit.
How do you keep going when t hings get tough?
"It’s when things seem worst that you must not quit." My favorite line of the poem.
ReplyDeleteQuote? Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time we fail. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson
Bible Verse? I am big on Hebrews 12:1-2 where we are encouraged to run the race with perseverance and not quit. But also the verses reminding us that our trials mold us and make us into who God sees in us.
I have quit plenty of times but I look to God and friends to keep me going when I can't move one more step. Eventually I get going again.
Peace, Julie
Hi Julie, Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
DeleteI love that line too.
This is state testing week for my students so we found special meaning in the poem.
I remember years ago, a student asked me if he could keep the copy of his poem from the writing assignment. I knew he had been going through a really difficult family time, so it proved the power of words to me that he wanted to keep the poem close by.
"Often the goal is closer than it seems." It sounds simplistic, but it's a good thing to keep in mind. Persistence is the only way to reach a destination so I just keep going.
ReplyDelete"And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up." [Galatians 6:9]
Thanks, Carol. I'd forgotten (if I ever knew) just how many times the Bible reminds us to persevere.
DeleteThe passage we were reading with this poem was about Dan Jansen not giving up his quest for an Olympic medal. It was very inspirational. He faced a lot of trials but he kept on.
What a wonderful quote and encouraging post! Contests are great for feedback but we should never measure our publication prospects by what others are saying. I love contests but have judged entries I thought were terrific and they never finaled. Great post, Mary!
ReplyDeleteWell, I think I've mentioned the fact I got second to last in my one year that I entered the Genesis. I knew SO LITTLE about contests, about how 30 pages has to pack a punch. I think I might have even been in the wrong category!!
ReplyDeleteBut my first book comes out Nov. 2012 and contests helped A LOT to get my pages to the point where the reader didn't put them down after page one or two.
I often think about my poor Genesis judges. How they must have suffered! HAHA!
Anyway, beautiful poem. I actually hadn't read this one before.:)
I love the Richard Bach quote.
ReplyDeleteI've left an award for you on my blog. Please stop by when you get a chance.
Thanks, Linda. I will. It's good to see you back in the blogging world.
ReplyDelete