Letters From Grandpa #29
- LETTERS FROM GRANDPA
- 29
Dearest Grandchild,
I frequently point out that you are a little smarter, a little nicer, and a little better looking than the average grandchild. While I say this in jest, I really believe it is true. With the help of Christ, you all have the ability to dream a dream and make that dream come true.
The Apostle Paul said it like this: “I can do everything through Him Who gives me strength” (Phil. 4:13).
I ran across this little poem a few days ago. Please prayerfully consider that if God wants you to do something, He will empower you to do it. In Christ, the power behind you is always greater than the task before you.
Bite off more than you can chew,
Then chew it.
Plan more than you can do,
Then do it.
Point your arrow at a star,
Take you aim, and there you are. Arrange more time than you can spare,
Then spare it.
Take on more than you can bear,
Then bear it.
Plan your castle in the air,
Then build a ship to take you there.
I think I told you about Sonya Carson, but her story bears repeating. She was one of 24 children born to a poor family in rural Tennessee. She was 13 when she married Robert Carson. He was 15 years older than she was. Sonya had two children by him, only to discover that in addition to his problems with alcohol and gambling, he was also a bigamist with a wife and children elsewhere. At this point she and her two sons left him in Detroit and moved to Boston.
Sonya regularly had two or three jobs and worked such long hours that there were times when she did not see her sons for four or five days. Often she would leave for work before they got up, and come home after they were gone to bed. When her youngest son brought home an unsatisfactory report card in the fifth grade, she establish strict rules to help the boys be better students,. She restricted the TV to only two programs per week and required them to read two books each week from the public library. Even though she was illiterate, she demanded that they submit reports to her on the books they read. When her youngest son received failing grades and was labeled as the “class dummy”, she never gave up on him. When the school wanted to enroll her older son in a vocational
school she successfully prevented them from doing so. Her diligence paid off and her son’s grades improved. She taught them: “Learn to do your best. God will do the rest”.
The “rest of the story” is that her older son Curtis, succeeded in school and became a mechanical engineer. Her youngest son, Ben, also succeeded in school and became a world famous neurosurgeon. At age 33, he became the youngest major division director in Johns Hopkins history, as director of pediatric neurosurgery. He was also a co-director of the Johns Hopkins Craniofacial Center. In 1987 Dr. Ben Carson achieved international fame by leading a team of surgeons in separating Siamese twins joined together at the back of the head.
Perhaps more familiar to our family is the story of Sam Butcher. Many years ago I did a “Venture in Faith” with Sam and Katie. At one point in their lives they had 5 children and were so poor they could not afford to feed them. Katie would take raw oatmeal and sprinkle it on a sheet pretending it was manna from heaven. Obviously they couldn’t afford a car. One day, Katie said, they didn’t even have oatmeal. Instead of complaining, however, they took the children for a walk and sang praise choruses. When they returned to their home, there was food on the table. A neighbor was in the process of moving and emptied out their refrigerator and cabinets of things they didn’t want to move. When the Butchers were not home, and the door was unlocked, they went inside and left the food on the kitchen table.
Within a couple of years, the Butchers were multimillionaires. As you know, they built the Precious Moments Chapel just outside of Carthage, Mo. You probably also know that they bought John and Nancy’s home at a generous price that enable them to upgrade to a home with a swimming pool and tennis court. Sam’s dreams came true and he is careful to give God the glory!
The fictitious stories of Charles Dickens came from the cauldron of his own poverty. His father squandered their wealth and went to prison. As a result, 12 year old Charles was forced to work 10 hour days in a rat infested factory for 6 shillings a week. So when he wrote the Christmas Carol, David Copperfield, The Pickwick Papers, Etc. he was telling his own story. If he could dream a dream, we can too!
Here are some other dreamers to think about:
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Andrew Carnegie started his journey to wealth at the age of 13 by working six twelve hours days every week at a cotton mill.
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John Rockefeller was one of six children born in Richford, New York. His first job paid him only $50 in three months.
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Sam Walton was raised on a farm in Oklahoma. He milked the family cow and sold milk to the neighbors to help pay the bills.
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Oprah Winfrey was born to teen age parents and ran away from home at the age of 13. #
Pele, was once so poor that he had to make his own soccer ball out of newspapers. He went on to be the greatest soccer player of the century, winning three World Cups with Brazil, and scoring 1281 goals in 1363 games.
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Steve Jobs dropped out of college., but became a co-founder of Apple Computers. In 2010 his net wealth was estimated to be $8.2 billion
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C. S. Lewis received over 800 rejections before he sold a single piece of writing. #
The San Francisco Examiner turned down Rudyard Kipling’s submission in 1889 with the note, "I am sorry, Mr. Kipling, but you just do not know how to use the English language." #
The manuscript for The Diary of Anne Frank received the editorial comment, "This girl doesn’t, it seems to me, have a special perception or feeling which would lift that book above the curiosity level."
Remember! Paul’s confidence that he could do everything through Christ was written from prison. He never considered himself to be a prisoner of Rome, however, he preferred to see himself as the prisoner of Christ (Eph. 3:1). Paul knew that any time Jesus wanted to liberate him from prison, He would certainly be able to do it.
So say your prayers and dream your dreams. Someone said: “Be a Porsche - there are already plenty of Volkswagens in the world”.
I love you,
Grandpa Boyce