A Purpose for Living

The famous and very successful football coach Bear Bryant often told reporters, “I’d croak in a month if I quit coaching.” After twenty-five years as the head coach at his alma mater, Bryant announced he would be stepping down at the end of the season. On December 29, 1982, he coached his Alabama football team for the last time in the Liberty Bowl against Illinois. On January 26, 1983, he died of a massive heart attack.

Every one of us needs a reason to live—a compelling cause and purpose that keeps us going when we would rather quit. We all face obstacles that hinder us and make life difficult. Some people allow those obstacles to stop them. Others overcome. The difference is not in the obstacles, but in the determination and drive of the person who faces the obstacles.