From His Boyhood Days,

FROM HIS BOYHOOD DAYS, Daniel “Rudy” Ruettiger envisioned playing football for Notre Dame. Although slow and undersized, his dream finally came true in 1975 as the Fighting Irish faced off against Georgia Tech.

After graduating with great difficulty from Joliet Catholic High School in Illinois, Rudy served in the U.S. Navy and returned home to work in a power plant. Only his best friend, Pete, believed in the dream. When Pete died in an accident, Rudy quit his job and at age 23 applied for admission to Notre Dame. However, the university rejected his application due to mediocre grades and low test scores.

Ruettiger enrolled instead at a neighboring junior college, where counselors discovered Rudy suffered from dyslexia, a learning disability characterized by reversing letters and numbers. After three semesters of hard work and help from friends at the junior college, Rudy got into Notre Dame, fulfilling part one of his dream.

Pursing part two of his goal, Ruettiger played on the Fighting Irish scout team, winning the respect of his teammates and coaches. His football friends pressured head coach Dan Devine into allowing Rudy to suit up for the Fighting Irish’s final home game against Georgia Tech.

Devine inserted the walk-on in the contest’s final moments. The former scout team defensive end responded with a sack of the Yellow Jackets quarterback. At the game’s end, several teammates hoisted Rudy on their shoulders and carried him off the field.

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POINT Rudy Ruettiger dreamed big dreams. No one—not even his family—could imagine him achieving those goals. After all, his too-slow, too-small body couldn’t play college football for any school, much less a powerhouse like Notre Dame. And his learning disability would keep him from attending a school with such a strong academic reputation. But with faith and the help of his friends, Rudy lived his impossible dream.

In the Bible, Joseph dreamed dreams. He also had to overcome a lot of obstacles—including disbelief from his family—but God helped him live his dream too. Some people may try to squelch your dream, but God can use those setbacks for your good.

GOAL! Read about Joseph in Genesis 37, 39–41. Thank the Lord for helping you overcome obstacles to achieve your dreams. Also ask him to help you do what you can to make other people’s dreams come true.