Perseverance, Courage and Strength
“Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage…They go from strength to strength till each appears before God in Zion.” * Recently, an inspiring story was reported of Chris Nikic, a young man who completed the Ironman triathlon last November. Completing the triathlon is an amazing athletic achievement for anyone, but this was special because it was the first time a person with Downs Syndrome officially became an Ironman. As a child, Chris had to overcome many obstacles. While his older sister grew up to be strong and athletic, Chris’s speech, cognitive ability and physical development all took longer. At the age of eighteen, he was overweight, lonely and spending a lot of time on the couch watching TV. Thanks to loving, supportive parents, he finally came to the point of realizing that there was more for him in life than what he was experiencing. When the opportunity came to have a physical trainer, he made up his mind to begin training…a
