In his book Alive, Rick Christian recounts a low point in Thomas Carlyle's life. The noted historian had just spent two years writing a book on the French Revolution. On the day he finished his manuscript he gave his only copy to a colleague, John Stuart Mill, to read and critique. Then the unthinkable occurred. Mill's servant used Carlyle's manuscript as kindling to start a fire.

As Mill reported the devastating news, Carlyle's face paled. Two years of his life were lost. Thousands of long, lonely hours spent writing had been wasted. He could not imagine writing the book again. He lapsed into a deep depression.

Then one day while walking the city streets, Carlyle noticed a stone wall under construction. He was transfixed. That tall sweeping wall was being raised one brick at a time. It was a "eureka" for him. If he wrote one page at a time, one day at a time, he could write the book again. And that is exactly what he did.

Christian observes, "When faced with seemingly impossible situations, we often see the wall and not the individual bricks…but taken day by day, task by task, the load is more manageable…. Christ prayed for daily bread, daily sustenance. He didn't worry about tomorrow, next week, or next year. God's help comes day by day."