Hiram was born to a father who was harsh and cold and would always see him as a failure. His mother was not a source of emotional comfort to him either; he never once saw her moved enough to shed a tear. Hiram was always small for his age. He grew up ashamed he was not the kind of leader his father expected him to be.

At age 17, he was pushed by his father into the U.S. Military Academy. Hiram was now 5'1" and 120 pounds. He feared failing. He hated the school, but he dared not buck his father's decision. In fact, when the academy listed his name wrong, the young man was too timid even to get the error corrected. He went through the rest of his life under a partly erroneous name.

In time, Hiram settled into the school and did acceptably-- graduating just below the middle of his class. When he returned home, though, his neighbors mocked him in his new uniform, and the old humiliation returned. The boy was so deeply wounded emotionally that he would forever feel self-conscious in uniform. Later, as a 3-star general, he would prefer to wear a simple private's shirt with 3 stars sewn on it.

After marrying and attaining the rank of Captain, he dropped out of the military. He tried various ventures in civilian life until the Civil War broke out. He then tried to re-enlist as an officer. He found it hard even to get an interview with someone who could appoint him to a position.

Only a few good strokes of fortune ever made it possible for Hiram to show what kind of a military leader he really was. But he truly was a leader! For the young man who lived with a sense of inadequacy, who never had any great physical stature, and who almost couldn't make it in a career was named Hiram Ulysses Grant. We remember him as Ulysses S. Grant, leader of the victorious Northern Army and later President of the United States.

Life is not always kind. Sometimes it is outright mean, but God has never given up on us. Like President Ulysses Grant, we also should never give up.

Ron Newhouse

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