Our first reaction to adversity is fear or sadness. When Judy Robles was just sixteen years old and unmarried, she gave birth to her first child by Cesarean section. In the recovery room she asked what the baby's gender was and if the baby was okay. The doctor said he was a boy and later her parents told her the news: her tiny son had a birth defect and would never walk like a normal child. That night and for many for many more nights after, young mother Judy cried.
But Judy Robles was not crying this past weekend. Her boy Anthony, now a fine athlete and a senior at Arizona State University, became a champion. It was Anthony's last match of his career and he says last of his life. The crowd gave him a standing ovation as soon as his dominating win was complete. "I'd prepared for this moment all year," he said, "and I was scared. As soon as I hit the first takedown, I said, 'Okay, back to business'." He defeated the two-time national champion from the University of Iowa.
Robles has greater upper body strength than most of his opponents, and his style forces them to stay low. "I didn't get into the sport for the attention." he said, "I love the sport and am pleased when I can help motivate others to do things they wouldn't have thought possible." In the medal ceremony he stood tall as he received his award as the NCAA Wrestling Champion at 125 pounds. You see, Anthony Robles was born with only one leg.
Anthony's success is not so much in his overcoming adversity as it was in achieving his goals. Our success in life is not dependant on how we start life, but in how we finish it. Jesus of Nazareth had a fine beginning to His life, but a terrible ending. Yet even death on the cross did not define His life; His resurrection did. His loss of life on Friday was prelude to His regaining it on Sunday. Jesus is not remembered so much for His dying as in His rising again. As He told His disciples, "I lay down my life, only to take it up again." (John 10:17)
May we, too, rise above our struggles, and with the help of God join the Saints in glory.
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