GENTLE BREEZE By  NELLY FAVIS VILLAFUERTE Nelly Favis Villafuerte When the going goes tough and when we are going through a crisis, many of us lose faith and courage to hold on.  Others, however, just shift gears and keep going.  They persevere.  They are sustained by their deep inner strength.  They do not lose hope.  They persist until they see the breaking of dawn.  They believe that all crises are temporary.  That all storms end.  That every night turns into a new fresh morning.

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There are many verses in the Holy Bible that encourage perseverance.  In the Book of James in the New Testament, we see the following verse: “Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.” (James 1:12) Perseverance is a word that is best defined by example.  Let’s consider what some of our persevering and persistent scientists have invented and discovered (medicine and medical techniques) that are now lasting breakthroughs in the field of medical science.  Among them are:           - Emil von Vehring came out with an effective immunization against diphtheria and tetanus in 1912.           - Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin in 1928.           - Hans Berger developed the first electroencephalograph in 1029.           - Max Theiler came out with a vaccine for yellow fever in 1938.           - Selman Waksman discovered streptomycin in 1952.           - Jonas Salk developed the first effective polio vaccine in 1954.           - Christian Barnard performed the first successful heart transplant in South Africa in 1967.           - Laser surgery is now a method being used for eye operations and the removal of spinal and brain tumor since 1983.

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          Can you also imagine what would have happened if Michael Jordan quit basketball after he was dropped from his high school basketball team?  Or if Michelangelo did not endure seven long years lying on his back on a scaffold to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel?  Or if Dr. Seuss gave up after 23 publishers rejected his first children’s book that sold six million copies by the 24^th publisher?  Or if Apple microcomputers were discontinued after having been rejected by both Hewlett Packard and Atari? There are thousands of stories of successful people who are no longer in this world but are still remembered nowadays because the word “impossible” was not in their vocabulary.  Because to them the word “impossible” was devastating in its effect on the subconscious.  Because they believed that with a negative mental attitude, thinking stops.  Dreams are discarded.  Vision is lost.  And that the best of the creative brain cells clam up.

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          Let me share with you a story titled “The Pebble of Success” – about perseverance.  This story reportedly took place in 1942.  This is about an exploration crew that spent months prospecting for diamonds in a Venezuelan watercourse:           “Rafael Solano was physically exhausted and defeated.  As he sat on a boulder in the dry river bed, he announced to his companions, ‘I’m through.  There’s no use going on any longer.  See this pebble.  It makes 999,999 I’ve picked up without finding one diamond.  One more pebble makes a million, but what’s the use?  I quit!’”           “The efforts of the exploration crew focused on finding signs of valuable diamonds.  Mentally, physically, and emotionally they were exhausted. Their clothes were tattered and their spirits weak.           ‘“Pick up one more and make it a million,’ one man said.  Solano consented and pulled forth a stone the size of a hen’s egg.  It was different from the others, and the crew soon realized they had a diamond.  It is reported that Harry Winston, a New York jewel dealer, paid Rafael Solano $200,000 for that millionth pebble.  The stone was named the Liberator and to date, it is the largest and purest diamond ever found.”           If Rafael Solano gave up and did not pick a pebble one more time, he would not have discovered the largest and purest diamond.  The millionth pebble made him famous and rich.

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          The message I am trying to convey is that the optimistic individual persists in the face of setbacks and failures.  Remember the saying that “by perseverance, the snail reached the ark.”  The word persevere comes from the prefix ‘pre’ and the word severe.  It simply means that we have to trust God and keep pressing on even through severe circumstances.  As the Holy Bible says, nothing is impossible with God.  Our God who gifts us with the grace of perseverance never leaves us or forsakes us.  This divine reassurance should embolden us to persevere on a course without distraction or diversion. (Part 8 of An Overview of Bible Prophecy will appear on March 1, 2020).

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This column continues to give out copies of the Holy Bible for free to those who cannot afford to buy their own copies. If interested, please send your letter-request to Ms. Nelly Favis Villafuerte, 5233 Fahrenheit St., Palanan, Makati City. Kindly mention if it is the Tagalog, English, Cebuano, or Ilocano Bible that is preferred.             Be joyful and forgiving! (Comments may be sent to Ms. Villafuerte’s email: [email protected].)