I read about a 16-year-old that spurred me on and I want to share it with you today. She was a young bride and did not waste any time in bearing children. By the time she reached the age of 16, she had been deserted by her husband and left to raise her two children by herself.

Living in her “barrios” in Mexico, she was poverty-stricken, unskilled, and uneducated – couldn’t even converse in English! But she had a dream – and simply refused to let anyone talk her out of it. With only a few green backs she headed for LA. There she used her last $7.00 on a taxi ride to the home of a distant relative. There was hope in spite of the odds.

Romana refused to live on the charity of others. Promptly she found herself a job: washing dishes. Then she graduated to the task of making tortillas from 12.00pm till 6. 00am. From her two jobs she saved up $500 and purchased her own tortilla maker. Over time, with much hard work and study, Romana became the Manager of the largest Mexican wholesale business in the world! In addition, she was then handpicked by President Dwight Eisenhower to become the 37th Treasurer of these United States of America! Romana Banuelos was the epitome of what President Eisenhower spoke of: “Our dreams propelling our future….”

Our success is defined by what we identify in life, or in war or in anything else –as an overriding objective that persuades all other considerations to take second place to that one major objective.

We can use Romana as our model for serving our Lord with the skills we have to show Him our love. If we take our precious time to do a mailing; or make telephone calls inviting folk to times of prayer; or try to sort out a messy data base; or drive long distances to meetings when we are already tired; may we always remember: “The desires of the diligent are fully satisfied.” God adds His blessing only to our best effort; So today, let us give it ALL we got!

What was God’s promise?

“You have granted him the desire of his heart and have not withheld the request of his lips. You welcomed him with rich blessings…” Psalm. 21:2-3a

There is hope in spite of the odds!