Tough Times Don’t Last Long
By Justin March

“Tough times don’t last, tough people do.”
Iowa State Head Football Coach Matt Campbell

I love watching College Gameday on Saturday mornings.  The camaraderie
between Rece Davis, Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard, David Pollack, and Lee
Corso is always entertaining.  Chris “The Bear” Fallica chooses
what he deems to be educated, well-though out picks for the weekend, and there
are always surprises as the crew goes from city to city to have the fans
enlighten us on their rich traditions and humble opinions.  There are
always famous alumni from the schools that join the program, there are
hilarious, creative signs in the crowds, and there is a strong sense of
community no matter where the show ends up each week.  But my favorite
part of the show is the time they spend to share a heartfelt story about
overcoming obstacles and persevering from one of the school’s “super
fans” each and every episode.

As I was taking in the entertainment this morning, I found myself encapsulated
by a story about an Iowa State diehard fan named Nick Bassett.  Nick is a
29 year old season ticket holder who has been in a wheelchair since the age of
10.  This spring, after fighting a horrible infection in his legs, he
found out that they would need to be amputated.  I am sure the news was
like a punch in the face, but Nick’s attitude and perspective was an
inspiration to his community and even caught the attention of Iowa State’s Head
Coach Matt Campbell.  On the eve before Nick’s surgery, he received a call
from Mr. Campbell and listened to these encouraging words…“Tough times
don’t last, tough people do.”  Nick told Matt that his goal was to
make sure he did everything possible so that he would be able to take the field
for Iowa State’s first home game this season.  And wouldn’t you know it,
as the Gameday crew was sharing this story to all us football fans, Nick
entered the stage and led the crowd to an Iowa State chant that would make even
the hardest heart melt.  When asked why he felt it was so important to
enter Jack Trice Stadium and be part of that first game this season, Nick
humbly stated, “If my story can inspire just one person to get off the
couch and go on a run or try and better themselves in some way, it just makes
everything all the better.”

Wow!  That should make you want to get up and shout for joy!  And on
the 20th anniversary of 9-11, I found this story to be the perfect fit.
Yes, we endured some tough times when we were tragically attacked that fateful
day, but our nation proved to be strong.  We came together as one, our
first responders rose to the challenges ahead, and we persevered as we proved
to the rest of the world one horrendous day would not destroy us.  And
now, 20 years later, our college football players, who were not even old enough
or were not even born when this tragic event occurred, are standing up to honor
the fallen and rejoice with their survivors because they understand that
“tough times don’t last, tough people do.”

We were never promised that life would be perfect.  We were never promised
that we wouldn’t endure sorrow and pain.  But we were promised that we
would never be forsaken or left behind.  We were promised that if we have
a strong faith, believe in the Bible’s messages, and carry out God’s will for
our lives, that the tough times won’t last, but we will.  There will be
mistakes made along the way, we will stumble and fall, and there will be times
when the world feels like it has taken everything away from us.  But with
God by our side, we are encouraged to remember that the tough times won’t
last.  We will stand again, we will persevere, and we will celebrate with
our brothers and sisters when we rise above the evil forces that try to bring
us down.  And when our final day wipes our body from this earth, I pray
that we will rest with the assurance that the tough times didn’t last, but we
did because we walked with Jesus and brought others closer to the Father.