Re-posted blog from Mon, 03 Mar 2008
So I was thinking about the title “True Grit” after watching an old take of John Wayne receiving his Academy Award.
Grit is like a grainy piece of something. Something small enough to get into my garbage disposal rings and strong enough to stop them from turning. I learned about the rings last month when it stuck. A single gal friend stopped by. "I can help you! I just learned to fix my disposal last week!"
Yes, my garbage disposal is stuck again thanks to real—true grit.
Grit is also in another sense, the stuff that a good life is made of.
I think it’s what Harrison Ford was talking about in an interview when he said he wants to be remembered as a good collaborator both personally and professionally meaning…”that I put something into it—that I tried.”
Grit is needed to succeed.
A successful writer spoke about people looking for a secret ingredient in a brochure or magic bullet to succeed at our current undertaking. It would be nice to find a quick shortcut to growth, success, competence, excellence. He summed it up by talking about the strength of …you guessed it…grit.
“It is after all, the dab of grit that seeps into an oyster’s shell that makes the pearl, not the pearl-making seminars with other oysters.”
So once again it is Monday and the Scripture speaks. Proverbs 21:5 is filled with promise of grit for all of us venturing into new careers and pursuits. “The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty.”
We will ride the tide and survive the crashing waves with true grit in our belly, a nice hard, durable shell that God gave us and an ocean of opportunity ahead. Who knows what we may discover or what we can become if we learn to thank God for grit...