REFLECTIONS

I Think I Can

It seems I was not the only one to draw inspiration from the story. Andrew Lloyd Webber based one of his musical productions on The Little Engine That Could. As a child it was one of my favorites. I enjoyed it so much that I asked Mom to read over and over the story of a small steam engine that found the strength to pull a heavy load up a steep mountainside when the largest and strongest engines could not. “I think I can, I think I can,” the little engine repeated to himself in search of the strength to keep on going. And each puff of steam seemed to supply the inner strength to pull its heavy load a little further up the steep mountainside until it reached the top.

Even as a child, I could understand the idea that an unbeatable attitude can become the source of inner strength to conquer insurmountable tasks. And I wonder how that story might still influence my life today. I wonder if a tiny voice within me whispers, “I think I can, I think I can,” to inspire the strength to face life’s daily challenges. Yet, I also wonder if those words might persuade me to rely on my own strength as the source to face them. It’s a common trap to fall into just as Isaiah warned:

  Do you not know?

Have you not heard?

The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.

He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.

He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.

Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall;

but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.

They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary,

they will walk and not be faint. (Isaiah 40:28-31)

 In the childhood story, the little steam engine reached deep within to find the courage and strength to pull a heavy load up a steep mountainside when the largest and strongest engines could not. But what was the true source of its strength? Sadly the story does not tell. But the psalmist does.

       Our help is in the name of the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.

You are the light of the world,

Richard +

www.reflectingthesavior.org

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