I have a card on the wall next to my desk that was given to me last year at my ordination by friends from work. On the front is a quote by Booker T. Washington: "Success is to be measured not so much by the position reached in life as by the obstacles overcome while trying to succeed." How true those words are!
I am convinced that we spend far too much time in life worrying about what other people are thinking and doing. The old expression about keeping up with the Joneses is still true today. We see what other people have and we think, "now they are successful." But success just can't be measured that way.
I know a man who could barely read when he and his wife married. He never went to school enough to learn. Today he is an ordained minister. For those who are unaware, it might be a small thing to hear him in the pulpit. For him it is a miracle that he can stand and read scripture before a congregation. It would not be wise for him to compare himself to someone from a "well-to-do" home with a college education; the playing fields just weren't equal but today he is a huge success.
Are you feeling like you're up against something you can't beat? Just take a look behind you and see how far you've come. You might find the strength you need to get over the hurdle. And you just might find that you've been far more successful than you ever thought possible!
Thoughtfully Yours,
Sullivan Jones
4/25/13
Mispronunciation
Those of you who know me know that I like languages. My favorite classes in school were the foreign language classes. I know, that makes me weird, right? Most high school foreign language students know what it is like to have to memorize parts of a skit in the target language and act them out before the class. Many students dreaded these skits but I usually enjoyed them. An incident that occurred in my French I class due to one of those skits taught me a lesson that I shall never forget.
One day I was listening to the groups before me recite their parts. There was a part A and a part B. I had the B part. Without exception, everyone who had part B pronounced a certain word incorrectly. (I can't remember which word now). They not only pronounced it incorrectly, it was unrecognizable in the French language. The teacher seemed to pay no attention. I think she was actually grading papers while the students recited. My turn was quickly coming up and I had to make a choice. I would either pronounce the word incorrectly and fit in or pronounce it as I knew it should be and risk standing out. It didn't help that I had heard some of the students discussing the correct pronunciation before class; they had argued about it a minute before deciding on the incorrect pronunciation. I was too worried about being thought of as a nerd to risk offering help.
When my turn came I followed suit and pronounced the word the same way that the three or four people before me had done. When I did the teacher, who had been looking at her desk the whole time, looked up and me and said, "what did you say? you know better than that?" I then pronounced the word correctly and went on. I wondered if she had not noticed the mispronunciations of the other students or if she knew I could do better and wouldn't let me get by with less.
Either way I determined that day never again to do less than my best just because of what someone else did. We all have our unique talents and individual abilities. What I am weak in may be someone else's strong point and vice versa. I must do all I can with the talents that God has given me. When I stand before him I want to hear him say well done. If I have done my best he will not be critical but rewarding. If I have not done my best, then he will know that as well.
Lord, help me today to do my best with the abilities that you have given me. Thank you for the grace to try again when I have failed. Help me to remember that you created me with all my peculiarities and that you love me as I am. You also love me enough not to leave me as I am. You want the best for me and I can trust you with my live. In Jesus name, Amen.
One day I was listening to the groups before me recite their parts. There was a part A and a part B. I had the B part. Without exception, everyone who had part B pronounced a certain word incorrectly. (I can't remember which word now). They not only pronounced it incorrectly, it was unrecognizable in the French language. The teacher seemed to pay no attention. I think she was actually grading papers while the students recited. My turn was quickly coming up and I had to make a choice. I would either pronounce the word incorrectly and fit in or pronounce it as I knew it should be and risk standing out. It didn't help that I had heard some of the students discussing the correct pronunciation before class; they had argued about it a minute before deciding on the incorrect pronunciation. I was too worried about being thought of as a nerd to risk offering help.
When my turn came I followed suit and pronounced the word the same way that the three or four people before me had done. When I did the teacher, who had been looking at her desk the whole time, looked up and me and said, "what did you say? you know better than that?" I then pronounced the word correctly and went on. I wondered if she had not noticed the mispronunciations of the other students or if she knew I could do better and wouldn't let me get by with less.
Either way I determined that day never again to do less than my best just because of what someone else did. We all have our unique talents and individual abilities. What I am weak in may be someone else's strong point and vice versa. I must do all I can with the talents that God has given me. When I stand before him I want to hear him say well done. If I have done my best he will not be critical but rewarding. If I have not done my best, then he will know that as well.
Lord, help me today to do my best with the abilities that you have given me. Thank you for the grace to try again when I have failed. Help me to remember that you created me with all my peculiarities and that you love me as I am. You also love me enough not to leave me as I am. You want the best for me and I can trust you with my live. In Jesus name, Amen.
4/24/13
The Pen is Mightier than the Sword
There is an old adage that says "the pen is mightier than the sword". The meaning, of course, is that words are the mightiest weapons of all. It was Martin Luther's pen that fueled the flames of the Reformation when he wrote his now famous 95 thesis. Somewhat tongue-in-cheek, Abraham Lincoln credited Harriet Beecher Stowe with starting the civil war by writing Uncle Tom's Cabin. The list goes on ...
Psalm 45:1 likens our tongue to "the pen of a ready writer." Every time we speak we are writing a story. The words that leave our mouths can be used for both good and bad. They can help to heal or they can start wars. Which it will be is up to me. The main thing about words is that they can't be taken back. Once they are spoken, they will forever be engraved in someone's mind and spirit.
Lord, help me today to think before I speak. Let me weight my words with care; I want to build up and not tear down. I want the pen of my tongue to write a love story and not a war novel. Amen.
Psalm 45:1 likens our tongue to "the pen of a ready writer." Every time we speak we are writing a story. The words that leave our mouths can be used for both good and bad. They can help to heal or they can start wars. Which it will be is up to me. The main thing about words is that they can't be taken back. Once they are spoken, they will forever be engraved in someone's mind and spirit.
Lord, help me today to think before I speak. Let me weight my words with care; I want to build up and not tear down. I want the pen of my tongue to write a love story and not a war novel. Amen.
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