Unshakable Faith

George Washington Carver spent his early years shuffled between foster homes until one day Maria Watkins, a washerwoman, found him asleep in her barn.  She didn't just take him in, she took him to church and introduced him to Jesus.  When he eventually left her home, he took with him the Bible she'd given him.  Maria left her mark and his life, and George Washington Carver left his mark on the world.

This "Word for Today" devotional piqued my interest in reading more about George Washington Carver.  It was a surprise for me to learn he was a devout Christian man, but then again, these are the kinds of things that are often neglected in biographies studied at school and from secular publishers.  Yet, as I transitioned from reading my devotional to the biography "Unshakable Faith" by John Perry, I felt it was a story that high school students these days would greatly benefit from.  I'm guessing it will be my favorite non-fiction book of 2013, if not my lifetime favorite. I only wish I'd taken notes!

Booker T. Washington said this prayer and passed it onto students at Tuskegee.

I appreciate Perry's "whole picture" approach to unveiling his findings.  It gives us a picture of both Booker T. Washington and George Washington Carver's strengths and weaknesses.  Further, it lends insight to how the discipline in their Christian walk carried their work and successes.  With these snapshots of their dedication and humility, their legacy of faith inspires me to continue to blaze new trails and work alongside others to make dreams reality and scripture substantiated.