Steve Goodier

Life Support System
By Steve Goodier © 2003

MAKE A DIFFERENCE

Do you ever think that one person really doesn't matter? Tabitha Brown proved that one person does matter.

It was 1846. She joined one of the wagon trains of adventurers hoping to start a life in America's west.

Grandma Brown, as she was affectionately called, was 62 years old, only five feet tall, and weighed all of 108 pounds when well fed. Because she was partly paralyzed, she leaned on a cane and walked with a limp.

Along the way, she showed great courage and stamina. As she crossed the Great Plains and the Rocky Mountains, she nursed the wagon train's sick, though at one point, she neared starvation herself after the caravan's cattle were rustled off by Rogue River Indians.

Once they arrived in Oregon, she started one of the first schools in that part of the country. It was for all people, both rich and poor. The poor attended free while those who could afford paid a dollar a week for tuition and board.

As long as she was able, she worked to keep the institution alive. She attended to the students. She convinced would-be faculty of the need for teachers at the school. Many days found Grandma Brown hobbling about on her lame leg in the kitchen, kneading and baking the necessary daily bread.

And by the way, one person can make a difference. Today, that institution is known as Pacific University.

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This reading is found in Steve Goodier's popular book

ONE MINUTE CAN CHANGE A LIFE
60-second readings of hope and encouragement.

http://lifesupportsystem.com/books.html