Brush Off Your Gumption

If you have sung a hymn in any church you have probably sung one of Fanny Crosby’s tunes. She wrote over nine thousand songs…. NINE THOUSAND SONGS…oh yeah, and she was blind. She wrote this classic in 1873, almost one hundred and fifty years ago. She had so many reasons to write nothing – a woman in the late 1800s, blind, no one took her seriously, and yet she did write. She took what was inside her and put it onto paper for the entire globe to sing for hundreds of years.

When I read about Fanny it made me realize that we have no idea what makes people succeed. One person would have given up, or given into the time period and the traditional role of women. Not Fanny! She couldn’t keep inside the words, the tunes, the hope that her soul needed to share. Somewhere inside she had enough courage and plain, old gumption to do what she knew how to do which was write hymns. Hooray for Gumption!!!

I spoke to a woman today who is a recent breast cancer survivor. We talked about her career goals and exciting retirement plan. With a scarf on her head she confidently talked about her ambitions, her desire to serve people and her future hopes and dreams. Cancer wasn’t stopping her. It may have slowed her down for a bit, however it wasn’t going to win. Once again what was inside was more important than the circumstances of the day. Gumption strikes again!

Having the wherewithal or gumption to do it, no matter what is not simply an emotional state it is a state of mind. These two women had so many reasons to not do something, yet they chose to rise above and get the job done. We all need that reminder, some days more than others. We all need to remember that there is something within us – a purpose, an idea, a goal – that only we can accomplish. And we need to remember that WE are the only one who can get that thing done. So today is the day to brush off your gumption, stick to that stick-to-it-ness and go do what it is YOU are called to do. Put those circumstances aside and give the world the gift of what you have inside.