I once asked President Dwight D. Eisenhower who was the greatest
of all the great men he had known. His instant reply: “It wasn't a man. It was
a woman—my mother. She had little schooling, but her educated mind, her wisdom,
came from a lifelong study of the Bible. Often I have wished I could consult
her.
One night we were playing a card game, mother, my
brothers, and I. Not with playing cards. It was Flinch—mother was
straightlaced. But hands were dealt and I drew a bad one. I began to complain. “
‘Put your cards down, boys,’ Mother said. ‘Dwight, this is just a friendly game
in your home where you are loved. But, out in the world where there isn't so
much love, you will be dealt many a bad hand. So you’ve got to learn to take
the hands life deals you without complaining. Just play them out.’ ”
