Composition Disposition

By Dan Betzer
Guest Writer

CBN.com -- Ever get discouraged and want to quit? Are you thinking about giving up today? Let me tell you a story, first.

Richard was a would-be musician, but nobody wanted him. Nobody believed in him. His partner, Larry, was just as discouraged.

Richard heard about a job that would provide a small but steady income. It was selling children's underwear. But out of nowhere, he was hired to write the music for a benefit show that turned out to be a smash hit. He began to think, "Hey, maybe I do have talent... a future."

So, he stayed at it. And wrote "Oklahoma," "Carousel," "South Pacific," "The King and I," and my favorite of his musicals, "The Sound of Music." He also wrote the classic love song, "My Funny Valentine." His name? Richard Rodgers. "Larry" was the famous Lorenz Hart.

Later, after Hart died, Rodgers teamed up with Oscar Hammerstein. Rodgers died on December 30, 1979. Broadway theaters went dark for one minute in tribute. The Richard Rodgers Theater on West 46th Street in New York is a permanent memorial to the man whose music provided some of the most gorgeous sounds ever heard on this planet. And to think, he almost quit to sell kids' underwear!

So, now we come back to you, good friend. You have tried and failed. People have written you off. They have told you that you do not have much to offer, but you DO! God has given you abilities unlike any other, for no two people are exactly alike. You are gifted and unique. I have preached this hundreds times and I will say it again: "You can do all things through Christ who strengthens you!"