Challenges offer new opportunities

Jesse had a dead-end job, standing eight hours each day pulling feathers off dead chickens. While it was a job, he did not enjoy it. As if that was not enough, Jesse’s alcoholic father was mentally ill and had a nervous breakdown when Jesse was born. Tragically, the angry dad took his anger out on his young son, sometimes threatening him with a knife.

Jesse, a small child, thin and shy, did not think he was worth much. Not only was he treated poorly at home, but he was also an easy target for bullies at school. Although he was sometimes actually sick, Jesse’s “illnesses” were often his way of coping with a difficult life. Jesse’s dad died when he was 13.

The young man dealt with his challenges by fantasizing about a better life; he dreamed of becoming a ventriloquist. He read books about ventriloquism and practiced for hours with sock puppets. Although poor, he managed to save enough money to buy a ventriloquist dummy.

Jesse eventually joined the Army. Nervous energy is not something the military usually values in a recruit, but someone recognized his comedic talent and assigned him to the entertainment corps.

That assignment changed the young man, helping him realize he could make people laugh. He excelled at it, and it gave him new confidence. While many overcome what life throws at them and become successful. Jesse did more; he used his nervous energy to entertain millions.

Jesse went on to earn five Emmy Awards and was ranked number 27 in TV Guide’s 1996 list of the Fifty Greatest TV Stars of all Time. He played one of the most memorable comedic roles in TV history to perfection as the goofy but lovable Barney Fife on The Andy Griffith Show.

When Jesse Donald (Don) Knotts died on Feb. 24, 2006, he was one of television’s most beloved characters of all time. His life illustrates how good things sometimes come from our biggest challenges.

Romans 8:28 makes that very point when it says, “…God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.” (NLT)

While none of us knows exactly how life’s challenges will play out in our own lives or the lives of those we know. We do know everyone faces significant difficulties. As Don Knotts’ life reveals, God often turns our biggest challenges into our most amazing opportunities for growth and uses the things that could have destroyed us to help us become more meaningful and productive.