Centuries ago, Portugal adopted a national motto. The motto read: “No More Beyond.” It was an appropriate statement since Portugal, at the time, was the end of the world. But later some adventurous persons sailed beyond Portugal and discovered a whole new world. So the question arose: “What do we do with our national motto?” After much debate, one person simply scratched out a word, and the new motto became: “More Beyond.”

Whenever life tumbles in upon us, it is easy to have a “No more beyond” attitude. While facing what appear to be insurmountable challenges, we say to ourselves, “Certainly there is no life beyond this one.” Before long, we convince ourselves that there is no more light beyond our darkness. Then the mental bars of defeat and discouragement appear, and we begin to lock ou…