Every Monday
Chipping Away at the Mountain
By Steve May in Monday Memo
In the 1960s, a laborer named Dashrath Manjhi lived in a small village in Bihar, India. A mountain stood between his village and the nearest town, turning a short trip into a 55-kilometer journey.
When his wife was injured and couldn’t get help in time, Manjhi decided something had to change. So he sold his goats, bought a hammer and chisel, and began carving a road through the mountain.
Of course, people laughed. They said it couldn’t be done. He just ignored them, while chipping away with his hammer and chisel.
This went on for quite some time.
All through the 1960s, chipping away.
And then the 1970s, chipping away.
1980, 1981, still chipping.
1982 comes along … And the project is finished.
After 22 years, he had carved a path roughly 30 feet wide through solid rock, reducing the journey to the next town from 55 kilometers to about 15.
Can you really carve a road through a mountain with just a couple of hand tools?
It turns out you can — when you show up every day and keep chipping away.
This goes for just about any challenge we face.
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. (Galatians 6:9)
Because He Lives,
Steve May