A Life That Makes A Difference

"How do you account for your remarkable accomplishment in life?" Queen Victoria of England asked Helen Keller. "How do you explain the fact that even though you were both blind and deaf, you were able to accomplish so much?"

Ms. Keller's answer is a tribute to her dedicated teacher. "If it had not been for Anne Sullivan, the name of Helen Keller would have remained unknown."

Speaker Zig Ziglar tells about "Little Annie" Sullivan, as she was called when she was young. Little Annie was no stranger to hardship. She was almost sightless herself (due to a childhood fever) and was, at one time, diagnosed as hopelessly "insane" by her caregivers. She was locked in the basement of a mental institution outside of Boston. On occasion, Little Annie would violently attack anyone who came near. Most of the time she generally ignored everyone in her presence.

An elderly nurse believed there was hope, however, and she made it her mission to show love to the child. Every day she visited Little Annie. For the most part, the child did not acknowledge the nurse's presence, but she still continued to visit. The kindly woman left cookies for her and spoke words of love and encouragement. She believed Little Annie could recover, if only she were shown love.

Eventually, doctors noticed a change in the girl. Where they once witnessed anger and hostility, they now noted an emerging gentleness and love. They moved her upstairs where she continued to improve. Then the day finally came when this seemingly "hopeless" child was released.

Anne Sullivan grew into a young woman with a desire to help others as she, herself, was helped by the loving nurse. It was she who saw the great potential in Helen Keller. She loved her, disciplined her, played with her, pushed her, and worked with her until the flickering candle that was her life became a beacon of light to the world. Anne Sullivan worked wonders in Helen’s life, but it was a loving nurse who first believed in Little Annie and lovingly transformed an uncommunicative child into a compassionate teacher.

"If it had not been for Anne Sullivan, the name of Helen Keller would have remained unknown." But if it had not been for a kind and dedicated nurse, the name of Anne Sullivan would have remained unknown. And so it goes. Just how far back does the chain of redemption extend? And how far forward will it lead?

Those you have sought to reach, whether they be in your family or elsewhere, are part of a chain of love that can extend through the generations. Your influence on their lives, whether or not you see results, is immeasurable. Your legacy of dedicated kindness and caring can transform lost and hopeless lives for years to come.

You can never overestimate the power of your love. It is a fire that, once lit, may burn forever.

by Steve Goodier



And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.  

Ephesians 5:2

I Know a Spot That I Love Full Well!

I know a spot that I love full well,

'Tis not in forest nor yet in dell,

ever it holds me with magic spell,

I think of thee Alma Mater.

Kansas State Alma Mater

written by H.W. Jones in 1888

 Anyone who knows me personally, knows that I love Kansas State University.  I love the Alma Mater.  When I hear it I know that I am home.  There was a time in my life when K-State gave me a new direction and made it possible for me to get the education that has sustained me for over thirty years now.  It is a wonderful place to go back and visit and now the next generation of my family is making their impression on that campus.  It is a proud heritage!

But before Kansas State was in my life, there was this family that I came from...one part of which is my father's family.  My father is one of eleven children.  These eleven children and their parents lived in a house, a BIG house-for the times, in the country.  Lots of other of our family relations lived in this little valley, way out in the country.  With the exception of the other families' homes, the only other thing in the area was the little church across the road.  This church was of no particular denomination.  Anyone who wished to attend the church service, when the pastor came through, was welcome. 

Buck's Grove Church

Dedicated in 1880

The responsibility for the upkeep of this church fell to my family.  The church was always open for anyone who wished to come pray, get out of the weather, whatever.  My grandparents made certain that there was always heat in the winter and when they would see a light on or people around, made sure that whoever was there was fed.  My uncles and my dad (I wrote more about him in My Dad on Monday) dug the graves for the funerals.  They mowed the grass and tended to all the care of the cemetery.  They didn't get paid for this...they did it because it needed to be done.

They were able to attend to this lovely little church so well, because they lived across the road in this big, old house.  With eleven children, not all lived there at one time; the older ones had grown and started their own families when the youngest ones came along, but all of them-children, grandchildren, spouses, grandparents, aunts and uncles-joined together for celebrations, deaths, and get-togethers of all kinds at this place. 

There were porches all around, including the sleeping porch, where they slept when it was too hot inside.  There was the garden--much larger than most gardens of today, after all it had to feed all those kids!  There were flowers planted--in the garden, around the house, in the concrete pots placed along the walkways.  There were the trees--lots and lots of big, beautiful trees--that had been there for ages and ages.  There were the barns and storage buildings...one for corn, one for grain.  The creek ran right up to the barn across the road and the well to the south of the driveway supplied water to everyone in the area who might need some.  Just pull your wagon up to the well and the boys would fill you up!

This big, beautiful place was built by my dad's ancestor (I'm not sure if it's grandfather or great-grandfather-I need to clarify this).  His original place was built a little further back.  He was one of the first to come to this little valley and settle here.  Following him were his brothers and together they built their homes and families in the 'vale.'  In time he needed more room for his family and he built the bigger house which was then handed down to the next generation.  In it's time it was THE place to go.  They called it Clements Park.  All of  the celebrations were there.  There was much love there (all those children!).  There was much work there (all those children!). 

My family lived there until my grandfather died very suddenly.  My father was eighteen years old, the oldest living at home.  After that, my grandmother moved into town with the children and various people have lived in the house since.  We were fortunate a few years ago, to be able to go back to the old place and stand with our parents and aunts and uncles and hear the stories of what it was like living there.  What wonderful memories!  A couple of those much-loved folks are gone now, much too soon, but we have the memories that they shared with us that day, and all of the other days, and we are blessed!

This wonderful old place now stands in ruin.  Not so many people want to live that far out in the country anymore.  It has been for sale for many years.  Various of my cousins and I have, at times, wistfully discussed buying the old place and making a bed and breakfast or at least a place we could come and "get-away" for a while, but the task would be overwhelming, I'm afraid.  The porches are all falling in, the roof is almost non-existent.  The grass is overgrown and the barns are falling in on themselves.  There is a tree growing out of the well that cared for so many.

I'm too young (believe it or not) to have been able to share in all those special days at 'the Park,' but I have descended from that heritage and that love.  I know the stories, I know the people, and I'm proud to say they're my stories, my people.  They laid a strong foundation for me and the rest of my family that we can stand on and pass to the next generations.  The house will be gone, but the love will go on...from that spot that I love full well.



We Did Not Change, We Became Ourselves

We did not change as we grew older; we just became more clearly ourselves.

Lynn Hall

I love this quote.  It says so much that I believe.  Maybe it's because I'm fifty three years old and my perspective has changed a little, but I don't see that getting older is so bad.  I kind of like it.  I mean, considering the alternative, I think it's a good thing! 

My nephew will graduate from high school in a couple of weeks.  He is the fourth of our six 'next generation' to make the leap from high school into his next life.  I remember those days.  I was excited.  I was scared.  I was sad (I really liked high school and all my friends).  I was so....ready to be out on my own...a little bit, at least.  He is ready to go.  He has watched his older brother who has paved the way for him and he is counting down the days until he, too, is out of the house.

I remember thinking, in the 'olden' days, that I had all the answers.  If they would just turn me loose, and those of my generation, we would fix so many of the world's mistakes.  The world was changing faster than it had ever changed before.  We got the vote.  We protested until the war was brought to a halt.  We were changing things because there were so many of us.  Just the size of our group forced the world to change.

I hear that same speech from our kids.  They're ready to do things their way; to make things happen that we never could or did.  It's true that they have more gadgets and technology to connect in ways we only dreamed of.  Are they smarter than we were?  I don't think so but the difference may be that my generation focused on "me."  What will this generation focus on, I wonder?  With all the new technology are they really able and willing to have deep, personal relationships or will they create a new world of surface-level only friendships?  Will face-to-face meetings be relegated to my generation?  I've heard a lot of people from my generation worry over this new means of communication, but I have faith that these young people will excel in their endeavors.  They will find a way to bring it all together to do incredible things; things beyond our imagination.

What I've discovered as I've grown older, is that while we had some good answers and we did some good things, we've become a generation searching for something...more.  We've discovered that we were good when we were younger, but we're even better now.  Now we have the luxury of time.  Time to look back and learn from all the lessons.  Time to enjoy now.  We understand from too many lessons learned, that there is no guarantee for tomorrow.  We can sit back and enjoy our children and our grandchildren knowing that time goes by so quickly that we must stop and seize this day.  We can look forward and appreciate that, as much as we know and understand today, we will be even better tomorrow. 

We will be better because we will understand ourselves even more, for we will have lived through even more lessons.  We will have had more time to love, more time to lose, more time to learn.  I think the biggest lesson we've learned so far is that we don't have all the answers...and that's OK.  We don't have to have all the answers.  We've learned that each of us is here for a unique purpose.  We're, each of us, learning lessons to lead us to that purpose.  And we've learned that everything will happen just the way it's supposed to happen no matter how hard we try to control it. 

What a relief!  Each lesson learned has led us closer to who we were intended to be, just as each step my nephew takes will lead him closer to who he is to be.  His journey is still in the beginning stages.  He has many, many lessons in front of him.  I've had a lot of lessons; some learned, some I've had to learn and learn and learn again.  I will have many more lessons in front of me, God willing.  I hope that I've learned to get it the first time, but I know that's wishful thinking.  Some lessons just take longer.  That's OK.  I've got the time and now I have the patience to see where life will lead me so that I can more clearly become myself.