Walter Albritton August 14, 2016 People who refuse to quit inspire the rest of us to try again when we have failed. I never tire of reading stories about people who had the guts to get back in the game after being knocked down. Tim Tebow, for example, failed in his dream of becoming a quarterback in the NFL. Now 29 Tebow is working hard to realize a new dream: become a major league baseball player. Tebow Tebow Critics say Tebow is too slow. Others, like former major league catcher Chad Moeller, believe Tim can make it. Moeller said, “I truly believe Tim has the skill set and potential to achieve his goal of playing in the major leagues.” Tebow Whether or not Tebow achieves his new dream, you just have to admire him for the effort. I will be cheering for him to make it. Tebow I don’t know Hue Jackson, the new coach of the Cleveland Browns, but I like his attitude. This is supposed to be a rebuilding year for the Browns. They are not expected to win many football games. But Jackson refuses to believe the Browns cannot have a winning season. Jackson says, “We are going to work as hard as anybody so I think we stand as good a chance as anybody to win. We are not going to sit here and say uncle. It’s just not who we are. And I’ll never be that way.” I love his spirit and I will be watching to see how many W’s they can put on the board this fall. After a poor performance in trials earlier this year, Gabby Douglas was not expected to make the five-woman U.S. Olympic gymnastics team. In tryouts Gabby fell twice from the balance beam. But Coach Marta Karolyi chose Gabby for the team anyway because of her reputation as a fighter who excels under pressure. In Rio this past week Gabby proved worthy of Karolyi’s trust by performing brilliantly as the U.S. team won Olympic gold once again. Gabby got up and dusted herself off and got back in the game! E. Stanley Jones traveled the world as an evangelist and missionary. I was blessed to hear him speak many times. He often explained that what kept him going in his later years was grace and gumption. By gumption he meant the resilience to get up and get back in the game. When Jones was 88 he suffered a stroke that seriously impaired him physically but not mentally and spiritually. Though severely impaired in his speech, he dictated one final book titled The Divine Yes and even managed to preach several times from his wheelchair. In so doing Jones practiced what he preached and his example inspired many others to believe that, with a little grace and gumption, they could get up and get back in the game. Consider this possibility: the next time you get knocked down, if you refuse to stay down, you could get up and get back in the game – and inspire someone else to follow your example. All the grace you need is available – but you have to provide the gumption. + + +