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Tough Cookie

Tough Cookie

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Tough Cookie -- Tim DerringerMy husband is one tough cookie. The way he handles hard times amazes me.

A tough cookie has often experienced a hard life.

My husband has suffered from:

  • A malignant brain tumor (In 2004, he was expected to live three to five years.)
  • A heart attack, stroke, and fall that caused a severe brain injury (In 2009, all three happened the same day. He was not expected to live 24 hours.)

A tough cookie is a strong person. 

My husband refuses to give up in spite of health problems. He:

  • Almost never complains
  • Rarely gets discouraged
  • Fears little
  • Refuses to accept defeat

A tough cookie decides to make the most of life.

My husband would prefer to be healthy and able to work. However, he chooses not to be a worry wart. Instead, he enjoys what he can. He crosses each day’s bridges as he gets to them.

A tough cookie is not perfect.

No one is perfect. Life is not perfect. However, like all of us, my husband has a choice: complain or do the best he can. He says what happened to him is just the way the cookie crumbles. Therefore, he makes the best of life.

A second explanation of a tough cookie:

  • A difficult person
  • Someone who always wants his own way
  • An unpleasant co-worker

I seldom hear anyone use this second explanation.

“I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances” (Philippians 4:11 NIV).

Do you know a tough cookie? Please comment below.

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Thanks to Talmadge “Tim” Derringer for permission to share part of his story.

Throw in the Towel

Throw in the Towel

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Throw in the Towel--two women at a Relay for Life eventThese cancer survivor friends refuse to throw in the towel. Life knocked them down, but they got up again. They did not quit.

Throw in the towel comes from boxing. I don’t like boxing. Yet, many expressions we use come from that sport.

When someone throws a towel into the boxing ring, that team admits defeat. To avoid further pain, they give up. They don’t want the boxer hurt any more. Because the boxer is caught between a rock and a hard place, hard choices must be made.

We may decide to throw in the towel when we:

  • Can go no further
  • Have no hope
  • Need to focus on something else

However, sometimes we throw in the towel too soon. We:

  • Give up before we try everything
  • Rely on our own strength rather than God’s
  • Need to take a break and then try again.

If we do our best, we should feel no shame when we must throw in the towel. We just don’t want to throw it in too soon.

“Be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded” (2 Chronicles 15:7 NIV).

Thanks to Debbie and Karen for the photo and life example. Thanks to Emily Akin for the suggestion.

Do you have an expression you want explained? If so, please comment below.

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