I'd made it this far and refused to give up because all my life I had always finished the race.
Louis ZamperiniRead
All I did was pray to God, every day. In prison camp, the main prayer was, 'Get me home alive, God, and I'll seek you and serve you.' I came home, got wrapped up in the celebration, and forgot about the hundreds of promises I'd made to God.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on the importance of faith and commitment in times of hardship and the tendency to forget promises made during crisis once life returns to normal.
In this quote, Louis Zamperini shares his experience of being in a prison camp and relying on prayer for survival. He expresses the intention behind his prayers, which was to seek God's help in returning home alive, and acknowledges the fleeting nature of promises made in desperate times. Once he was freed and returned home, he recognizes that the excitement of life caused him to forget the spiritual commitments he had vowed to uphold.
Themes
PrayerFaithPromisesSpiritualitySurvival
In practice
Example use cases
During a speech at a charity event, I could quote Zamperini to emphasize the power of faith during tough times.
More from Louis Zamperini
All quotes →To persevere, I think, is important for everybody. Don't give up, don't give in. There's always an answer to everything.
Louis ZamperiniRead
People say, on the raft, you must have hallucinated. Baloney. We were sharper after 47 days than the day we started because our minds were empty of all the war and contamination; we had clean minds to fill with good thoughts. Every day we'd exercise our minds.
Louis ZamperiniRead
I think the hardest thing in life is to forgive. Hate is self destructive. If you hate somebody, you're not hurting the person you hate, you're hurting yourself. It's a healing, actually, it's a real healing...forgiveness.
Louis ZamperiniRead
If you hate somebody, it's like a boomerang that misses its target and comes back and hits you in the head. The one who hates is the one who hurts.
Louis ZamperiniRead
People tell me, "You're such an optimist". Am I an optimist? An optimist says the glass is half full. A pessimist says the glass is half empty. A survivalist is practical. He says, "Call it what you want, but just fill the glass." I believe in filling the glass.
Louis ZamperiniRead
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