Some people get off to a very good start in life often for reasons beyond their control–sometimes their parents are able to do things for them that other people’s parents can’t or they’re born with special gifts that others aren’t. While we can’t do anything to alter the circumstances surrounding the earlier stages of our lives, we can do something about the latter stages which means we can all finish strong. When I think about finishing strong, I’m reminded of the great Major League Baseball player, Roberto Clemente, who played for the Pittsburgh Pirates. His beginnings were humble and poor. As a young man, he worked beside his father in Puerto Rico in the sugar cane fields loading and unloading trucks. In 1955, he began his 18-year Major League playing career. During that time, he was selected to 15 All-Star teams, won 12 Gold Glove awards, won the National League batting title four times and won the National League’s Most Valuable award in 1966. Yet, with all these accomplishments, Roberto Clemente is most remembered for how he finished out his life. He died in a plane crash delivering relief supplies to earthquake victims in Nicaragua on New Year’s Eve, 1972. He wasn’t content to rest on his laurels or bask in the limelight of his success. Instead, he was concerned about bringing relief to suffering people whom he had never met.
