It’s never too late to accomplish what you really want

“Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny.” C.S. Lewis.

A while back, I read about Dave Thomas, the founder of the fast-food restaurant, Wendy’s. He was adopted when he was a baby. But his adoptive mother died when he was five years old. And Dave and his adoptive father moved frequently as his father looked for work.

With many struggles, it was a lonely childhood. Then, in the tenth grade, Dave left high school to work full-time at a restaurant. Since he didn’t have the right education, background or resources, Dave could have felt like an underdog. He might have developed feelings of inadequacy, for he even was told that he’d “never amount to anything.”

Yet, Dave was determined and resolute in his causes. He demonstrated grit, steadfast tenacity and he set goals for his future. In Dave’s heart, there was a burning desire to succeed. Dave had an entrepreneurial flair and believed that one day he’d run the best restaurant in the world. He did not become complacent, thinking, “It’s not going to happen.” Nor did he focus on the negative. For sometimes, the only limits in life are the limits we place on ourselves.

So, Dave challenged himself to be the best that he could be. With full-hearted faith in God, hard work and integrity, he did all he could to follow his dream forward. For God can work in amazing ways through our faith.

In 1969, Dave opened his first Wendy’s restaurant. And in the years that followed, Dave began to franchise the concept. Wendy’s became a household name and one of the largest hamburger fast food chains with over 6,000 locations worldwide.

Additionally, Dave started a Foundation for Adoption. Raising awareness for the cause, he helped to promote law simplification and to reduce adoption costs in the United States.

Dave has made a supreme difference in the lives of others. He strongly believed in giving back to the community and countless organizations benefited from Dave’s kindness, generosity and philanthropic efforts. Moreover, an education advocate, after 45 years, Dave went back to school. He studied for and earned his GED. “It wasn’t easy, but it was worth it,” Dave once said in an interview. He proved to himself and to others that it’s never too late to accomplish what you really want to do.

You may not be the most qualified. Perhaps, you have been overlooked. You might be facing obstacles. Or, you’ve suffered in the past. And yet, like Dave Thomas, in your heart there is a belief that in some way you can succeed. Regardless of what you’re going through or are trying to achieve today, hold fast and don’t quit. Keep helping others. God knows what you have been through. The odds may be against you. But God is for you. So, pray, and trust God to do what you can’t do.

Years back, on Easter Sunday, Mother Angelica passed away. A Roman Catholic nun, Mother Angelica solely relied on God. And His perpetual light shined upon her.

Mother Angelica had no experience in construction, financial planning, or television operations. And beginning with just $200 and working out of the garage in her Birmingham, Alabama monastery, she began to build a religious worldwide television, radio and publishing empire. She was guided by a firm faith and placed her trust in the providence of God.

In an interview, Mother Angelica described how a visit to a network studio ignited her entrepreneurial vision. “I walked in, and it was just a little studio, and I remember standing in the doorway and thinking, it doesn’t take much to reach the masses,” she uttered. “I just stood there and said to the Lord, ‘Lord, I’ve got to have one of these.’”

Scripture tells us, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed,

you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move.

Nothing will be impossible for you.”

(Matthew 17:20) Mother Angelica acted on God’s invitation to do the impossible. Her faith moved the mountain, for God did the miraculous. And through Him, a broadcast center was built that today has become the largest religious media network in the world. EWTN transmits programming 24 hours a day to more than 118 million homes in 127 countries worldwide.

God can use unlikely people, in overlooked places, to do remarkable things and to show His extraordinary goodness. The hand of God works in unexpected ways. Therefore, keep the faith and don’t underestimate what God can do for you.

I recall one afternoon at dance class, my daughter misplaced one of her ballet slippers. She inquired at the studio, and the dance teacher told her to check the lost-and-found box. My daughter explained to me that she had to go through dozens of ballet shoes, and some of them were the same size as hers, until ultimately, she found her shoe.

“Well, if there were so many shoes the same size, how did you know which ballet slipper was yours?” I asked. Quite matter-of-factly, she replied, “My initials were written on it.”

In the same way, that aspiration that has been taking a long time to happen has your initials written on it. There is an opportunity to come with your initials written on it. There’s healing with your initials written on it. And an abundant future has your initials written on it.

This is going to be a year that God does great things in your life. Believe it. It will happen. When you look back, you will say that 2024 was the turning point. Don’t give up and keep blessing others. The time is coming soon where you’ll see yourself living out your God-inspired dreams. God is going to take you further, in every good area, way beyond what you can imagine.

So, wait with joyful expectation and certainty for God’s blessings. Watch for big and small miracles. Make no mistake. You are next in line for some of God’s loving, wonderful grace. Stay faithful. You’re going to be richly rewarded for your faithfulness and goodness to His people.