Well Done

“Somewhere along the way, we must learn that there is nothing greater than to do something for others.”  Martin Luther King Jr.

The other morning I was drinking coffee when I noticed the word well emblazoned on the side of my mug.  It gave me great pause and I filed it away.  Then the other day on my car radio I heard this speech from Martin Luther King, Jr:

“… if it falls your lot to be a street sweeper, go on out and sweep streets like Michelangelo painted pictures; sweep streets like Handel and Beethoven composed music; sweep streets like Shakespeare wrote poetry; sweep streets so well that all the host of heaven and earth will have to pause and say, "Here lived a great street sweeper who swept his job well."

Funny how so many of us think that what we do and who we are matters so little.  Yet, how often are we influenced by the most unlikely of sources.

For example, throughout history many have labored in jobs that were well done.  A secretary named Rosa Parks  refused to give up her seat after a long hard day and inspired a whole country.  Todd Beamer,  an ordinary business man on a plane trip,  gave up his life for his country on 9/11 . Mother Teresa humbled herself to live in poverty with the poor.  Even Anne Frank, who was just a teen, wrote memoirs in her diary that inspired millions during the holocaust.

Then there is the example of Jesus, who was a carpenter by trade. Just imagine how priceless a chair or table would be today handcrafted by the Son of God?  However, not only was he a fine craftsman, but he was obedient to the task God the Father had given Him as He gave up his life for ours.   Just like Jesus lived His life to please the Father may it be said of us at the end, "well done thou good and faithful servant."

God bless the street sweeper and anyone else who has toiled in a job where only God and his angels have said well done. 

May well done not only apply to how you liked your steaks cooked , but to how you lived your life as well..

Swavel

 

Della's View

 

“The view from the point where we buried my sister is sublime.  I never saw a prettier place anywhere.” Brother of Della Mayers.

It was just a few years ago when I heard this phrase mentioned in reference to the Rhoads Opera House Fire that occurred on January 13^th, 1908. Sadly, Della Mayers, the ill-fated play’s lecturer, and 170 others lost their lives in the tragic blaze.  Strangely I felt the need to find her.   So, whenever time permitted I set out on a mild pursuit of her gravesite, so I could witness this incredible view that gave her brother such great solace. 

Her body is laid to rest in Fairview cemetery in Boyertown, Pennsylvania where my grandfather is buried and only minutes from where I grew up and now live. However, no matter how often my wife and I tried to find her marker, the exact location eluded us. Often I would leave the cemetery wondering why I bothered, but now I think I know why: I was trying to find the sublime.

At the time of the tragedy Della was fifty one years old and resided in Colorado along with her husband, J.J. Mayers.  Her sister, the play’s author Mrs. Harriet Monroe, was having voice trouble and had persuaded Della to come east in her stead. As the story goes, since Mrs. Mayers was the lecturer she was positioned right near the projector where the fire accidently broke out.   It was said of her that she died valiantly trying to save others.   

Her husband so distraught over her loss could not bring himself to make the trip east to bury her. Consequently, her body now resides on a quaint, quiet hillside overlooking a town she only briefly knew.  Two of her brothers however made the trip and one made an eloquent observation that drew me in some hundred years later.

Thankfully, about four months ago, my wife and I found Della and the blissful view we had been promised.  Her brother was right the view is sublime, which by definition means awe inspiring and impressive.  And believe you me; nothing represents that better than Della’s life, death and her view.

Some things in life are worth finding if only for the view.

Swavel

 

Could Be Worse

Just look around a little, someone else has it worse than you do.

Minus two degrees is what the temperature read just the other day.  With such frigid temps just leaving the building to run a few errands was far from pleasant   Then later in the day my wife informed me that our oil heater had quit working.  Stink.   However, I had nothing to complain about in comparison with the guys I had witnessed earlier in the morning braving those same cruel elements while working on a burst water main.

This got me to thinking about something very profound that Kyle Idleman, pastor of a Church in Kentucky and author of Not a Fan, once said in one of his talks.  He was relaying a story from a man who was on a mission trip and what he had witnessed while there. 

The man was visiting a leper colony when during a worship service the song leader asked for requests.  A female leper raised her fingerless hand.  As the man turned to get a better look he could she had no nose and her lips were gone as well.  In a muffled voice the woman said she would like to sing, Count you Many Blessings. 

Now, that’s a reality check we all can gain a fresh  perspective on regarding what truly matters in life.  I know I am truly blessed.

Remember, it always could be worse, should be first blessing we count when faced with life’s difficult moments.

Swavel

Real Briefly

 

 

 

 

 

 

To a certain extent, we all tend to remember what we want.

Real briefly, in an attempt to test your memory, give the capital cities for the following ten states:

1-Oregon  2-Maine  3-Mississippi  4-Ohio  5-North Dakota   6-Texas  7-Vermont   8-Kansas

9-Missouri  10-Louisiana.    (The answer key is below my name). 

Now, if you are an adult, don’t feel embarrassed if you struggled to recall something we all knew in our youth. Look on the bright side, when I did a self-test on all fifty states I only got twenty four correct.  Despite the fact we all grow up learning the capitals of all fifty states our memories tend to fail us at times.

Memories are a funny thing, they tend to come and go, especially when it comes to things we don’t discuss on a daily basis.  However, if you are like me, we tend to remember the bad stuff, like the wrongs others have done to us.  Then if we dwell on these bad memories long enough in time they can turn into hard feelings.

Since this is the beginning of the New Year, I thought it best to encourage you to leave the past behind you.  Well, at least as best you can.   Remember, each day is brand new and life is too short to dump yesterday’s garbage all over it.

In life, when it comes memory, focus real briefly on the bad and long and hard on the good.

Swavel

Answer key: 1-Salem  2-Augusta  3-Jackson  4-Columbus  5-Bismarck 6-Austin  7-Montpelier  8-Topeka  9-Jefferson City  10-Baton Rogue