There is a tumbleweed on my patio. Tumbleweeds are not normally found in South Carolina. In fact this one came from Kansas…over 40 years ago. My mother-in-law was heading home with her husband and youngest son from their first visit to see their daughter and her new husband in their first church staff position in Wichita, KS. Tumbleweeds occasionally blew across the highway. Her husband and son saw them but didn’t pay much attention this was a common sight for that part of the country. However, she had a vision and saw more than a bush blowing across the road. She made him stop the car, retrieve the tumbleweed and move the luggage to the backseat to make room for the tumbleweed to ride unharmed in the trunk for the next thousand miles. By the way, he loved her very much and was used to following her directions and requests even when he had no clue where they were leading.
She had a
gift to see beyond what others saw at first glance. That tumbleweed plus a few ornamental birds
made a beautiful decoration in their fireplace for the summer. She did not see the bush blown by the wind
that most people saw and paid little attention.
She saw the potential for something better. The ability to look past the obvious and see
the potential in things and people is a gift for which we all should
strive.
George
Bernard Shaw said, “You see things; and
you say ‘Why?’ But I dream things that never were; and I say ‘Why not?’ Senator
Robert F. Kennedy used a similar quotation as a theme of his 1968 campaign for
the presidential nomination: “Some men
see things as they are and say, why; I dream things that never were and say,
why not.” Senator Edward Kennedy quoted these words in his eulogy for his
brother in 1968.
There are
certain gifts that some seem to have at birth. Some seem to be born with a
special gift for music, art, sports, math (YUK), etc. While others may try they
simply do not have certain gifts. I
tried sports and found out I had a gift or talent of hitting line drives into
the catcher’s mitt. That career doesn’t have
a great future. However I believe this
is a gift that can be attained by all of us. That is the gift to look past the
obvious as look for the potential, in ourselves and especially in others.
Too often
we settle for the obvious in our own lives and in our expectations that lead to
disappointment. All of us can do better
if we will look to our potential for our own best. I never was a threat to become a professional
athlete but I did discover that once I looked past my shyness of youth, God had
called and gifted me with the ability to stand in front of an audience and
preach a message of His love. 45 years
ago my home church recognized this and issued a public ‘License to Preach’. It hung in my office for some 40 years. It along with other certificated and diplomas
are retired to a less public position, as am I.
However, I finally was able to see beyond the timid image that others most
saw and was able to preach God’s love on 5 of the 7 continents. Even my mother never thought I would be able
to do it and she loved me very much. The
point is that we all have potential and unique gifts that we need not be afraid
to explore. We will never know the
results of that potential that is within us until we step out in faith. Don’t listen to the negative discouraging
words of others. Look beyond and
soar.
We can also
help others soar as we look and sometimes help them see their own
potential. You may be able to help
someone discover their hidden potential with a simple word of
encouragement. I will never forget the
words of a preaching professor, who had written the textbook many teachers
used, when he simply looked at me, after hearing my effort, and saying; “You have it!” That obviously did not mean that I would be
the next Billy Graham but he did see the potential for me to do something that
still seemed questionable to me and others.
Look for the potential in others and don’t be afraid to share it.
Getting the
most out of life is not often accomplished by worrying about what others might
think or say and playing it safe. Helen
Keller said, “Life is either a daring
adventure or nothing. Security does not exist in nature, nor do the children of
men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than
exposure.”
My
mother-in-law was not worried about looking foolish with a tumbleweed in her
fireplace, in fact the opposite was realized.
She was praised for having a vision to create beauty that enhanced life
when others simply saw a bush blowing across the road. Getting the most out of life is best
accomplished when we seek to look past the ordinary in our lives and the lives
of others. Open your eyes to your
potential and help others find theirs.
If I can be inspired by a 40 year old tumbleweed on my patio think of
what you can see when you look at the potential that is within and all around
you.
