In the book  Winning Is A Choice the authors tell a moving story on overcoming obstacles in life.
      The story begins in Plano, Texas, a small town north of Dallas.  It was 1971.  A young lady by the name of Linda had a boyfriend.  She thought she was in love and gave herself to him.  But the unexpected and unwanted happened: Linda got pregnant.  She tried to cover the baby as long as she could but eventually, she had to tell her mom.  When she told her mom, Linda was told she had two choices: abort the baby or get out of the house. 
      Linda chose to have the baby and accept the consequences.  She married her boyfriend and a short time later gave birth to a little boy.  Soon after giving birth to the child, her marriage broke up.  Linda was alone.  She had no husband and no high school diploma and she felt unprepared to sustain herself in the world.
      But, she was determined NOT to quit.  She remembered something her grandmother had said: Make every obstacle an opportunity. 
      Linda believed she had made one good choice: to have the baby.  Now she made a second choice: to find a way to turn her obstacles into opportunities.  She decided to stay in school and let nothing deter her from getting a diploma.  She searched and searched for a good part-time job but found  nothing.  However, she refused to wallow in self-pity.  She was determined to find a way.  So, she took  two jobs, one in a Kroger grocery store and another in a KFC restaurant. 
       Things were tough for Linda's son.  She didn't have the money to dress him like the rich kids.  One day a girl laughed at him for wearing old clothes.  This stabbed in her little boy in the heart and Linda felt the pain too. 
       She watched as her son searched for acceptance.  He tried football, basketball, baseball but he failed repeatedly. 
        He tried swimming and liked it but, he was so far behind the other children that the swimming coach said said he would have to swim with the seven-year-olds.  He was humiliated but he still liked swimming so he stuck with it.  Linda told her son he could turn this obstacle into an opportunity.
      During this time, Linda was saving every cent so she could buy him a special gift for his birthday - a Schwinn bike.  When she gave it to him, his eyes brightened.  Immediately he got  on it and took off.  The bike represented freedom.  Speed.  He loved to ride fast.
      About this time, Linda's second marriage ended when she discovered her husband had an affair.  But, instead of focusing on the past, the decided to look for the diamond in the dumpster.  She would turn this obstacle into an opportunity. 
       As Linda's son, Lance, continued to improve as a athlete, someone told him he should enter a bike race. He did and discovered he was great on the bike. 
       By now, you at least have a hint of who Linda's son is.  You see, Linda Armstrong Kellly's son is Lance Armstrong, 7 time winner of the Tour De France.
       Lance Armstrong's ability to get up when his bike crashed during the Tour De France went back to his Mom's determination to turn an obstacle into an opportunity.
      Are you facing an obstacle today?  By God's grace, turn it into an opportunity.