Wounded But Not Defeated

Surely all of us know who Teddy Roosevelt was. While we may know that Roosevelt served as the 26th President of the United States, I dare say that few people know of the following, almost unbelievable event that occurred while he was campaigning for his third term as President.

On October 14, 1912, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Teddy Roosevelt left his hotel room to make a speech to his supporters.  As he headed to his car, a man, who was later declared insane, pointed a gun at Roosevelt’s heart and fired.  The bullet hit Roosevelt in the chest and lodged near a rib.  However, the bullet stopped short of his heart.  Fortunately for Roosevelt, he had folded his fifty-page speech and placed it in his coat pocket.  The bullet was slowed down by his heavy overcoat, 100 pages of paper, and his eye-glass case.  Roosevelt’s handlers insisted that he immediately go to the hospital for treatment.  However, Roosevelt had other ideas.  He coughed a few times and spit on the ground to see if he saw any blood.  Seeing none, he concluded that the bullet had not penetrated his lungs, so he went on to deliver his speech.  But also, not only did he proceed with his speech with a bullet in his chest, he spoke for 90 minutes!  (Roosevelt really was a “bull moose!”)  Though wounded, he was not defeated!

In 2 Corinthians 4:8-9, Paul said, “We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.”  Just like Roosevelt, Paul too, was wounded, but he was not about to let those wounds stop him.

Then there’s your story.  If you’ve lived long enough, you too have suffered wounds.  And if you have been wounded, you have a decision to make.  Are you going to quit because of your wounds, or are you going to press on?