Baseball fans everywhere are still in shock that after a collective  176 years of futility, the Cleveland Indians and the Chicago Cubs are meeting in the World Series.

The Cleveland Indians last appeared in the World Series  in 1997 but have not won since 1948.

Even more surprising, the Chicago Cubs last played in the World Series in 1945 and last won in 1908.

One would imagine that with such non-impressive streaks, both teams might have dropped a few fans over the years.

Perhaps this long season of falling short of their goals has been discouraging to the members of both teams.

Maybe you can sympathize with these teams.

At this midpoint of the semester, the increasing number of tests, presentations and papers can easily become overwhelming and discouraging.

You woke up at 7:45 for your 8 a.m. You didn’t get the “A” you wanted on your Essential Science midterm. Your 1,000-word paper is stuck at 750 words. You’re so exhausted, coffee is no longer giving you the boost you need.

No one would deny that college is difficult.

But it’s in these times of intense pressure that it is most important to keep going.

View these challenging moments as opportunites for God to mold you more into His image.

Thomas Edison was a man who became very acquainted with failure before he finally achieved success.

“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up,” he said.

Imagine how differently  this World Series would be if the Indians and Cubs had thrown in the towel years ago.

They most certainly wouldn’t be competing for the $15,000 silver and gold “Commissioner’s Trophy” right now.

Don’t become one of the failures who didn’t realize how close you were to success.

Stay strong, work hard and never give up!