the boy ’ s home as his dream , his vision , and his purpose . It was genuine and heartfelt . But still unbuilt . I doubt Butch will ever live his purpose . For 40 years , he has been unwilling to take the first step , making excuses every time he needed to start .
Like a person wanting to learn how to swim but refusing to enter the water , or a person wanting to skydive but unwilling to get into the airplane , Butch will probably die knowing his purpose but never fulfilling it .
Get Started
When I think about my friend Butch , I sincerely believe that he wants to magnify God in his life . He loves Jesus and his character reflects it . But he keeps waiting to start fulfilling his Godgiven assignment in life .
When I asked him why he waited , he gave me a list of reasons , good reasons in his mind . But I call them excuses . Before you start fulfilling your purpose , there will always be a reason to procrastinate .
My wife , Debbie , and I enjoy taking trips , often to the mountains of Tennessee and the beaches of northwest Florida . We drive to both destinations . And in a five- or six-hour trip , we will encounter lots of red lights . Suppose we thought about all the red lights before we left home . And what if we waited until all the lights turned green to depart . Then we would never leave home .
Nothing worth doing is without obstacles . I often remind myself what Henry Ford , the famous automaker , said about challenges you will face . Mr . Ford said , “ Obstacles are those frightening things you see when you take your eyes off the goal .”
Instead of waiting for everything to be perfect , Butch could have been researching the various laws affecting a home for boys . He could have shared his vision with potential donors . And he could have meet with others who ran similar homes about the challenges he would face . But he didn ’ t . He kept waiting . And that is why , I believe , he will never experience the joy that God intends for him to have .
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