At the risk of writing what could sound like pure “Granddaddy bragging,” I have something to share that I think is worth the risk.
Yesterday – my 61st birthday – I received something very special in my email. I received a video that I watched with Bec over and over and over again. It was of my almost seven year-old grandson Jacob Myles Wood, Jr. whom we call by his middle name (my mother’s maiden name). The video was particularly captivating because our Myles has seemed to be a bit like the rest of us Wood boys (except for John Boy): We were not blessed with natural foot-speed and had to really work at running. As Myles and I have played football with the boys in his neighborhood, I have watched how hard he has tried, and I’ve seen a bit of exasperation on his face at times. But here is what happened last Saturday.
It was only his second cross country meet, and it was being held at his school – Cedar Creek in Ruston. Grandmomma Bec and I were sitting in rapt attention watching the video, as the first four boys (out of a large pack) came running all alone down the final stretch, having conquered hills, splashed back and forth across the creek, wound their way through North Louisiana hardwoods, and then at last burst into the delight of an open, flat field – the home stretch! And there was our Myles running with all of his heart while his daddy could be heard high above all other sounds cheering him on! As he crossed the finish line, he refused to allow his pace to slacken, although his face was clearly tinged with challenge-wrought redness. But as we re-played the video again and again, we could see the deepest kind of satisfaction flashing a subtle smile through his eyes and cheeks. With his shoulders back, he strode straight ahead through the roped-off lane to be greeted by the meet officials and receive his medal. He had run the mile in eight minutes and twenty seconds! I have to write this again – 8:20! I was so happy for him. If I had been looking at film on a projector, I would have probably burned the film up!
But now – here is the best thing of all. When I talked to Myles last night, he told me what Paul Harvey would have called “the rest of the story.” Myles said that after the race, he noticed a young boy who was crying. He said, "I walked over to him and asked him why he was crying. He said that he had come in last. And I told him, ‘It's ok to come in last, if you did your best and had fun.’ The boy calmed down after that."
I said to him, "Myles, that is the most important thing." "I know, Granddaddy," he replied. I thank God that, by His gracious workings, Myles does know. I pray that he will never forget what he presently understands.
Why am I taking this risk in sharing a personal story about my own grandson with you? Because my sincere hope is that the Lord will help all of us to be ALWAYS looking for the boy who is crying.
There are “boys and girls” of all ages crying all around us because of our sub-human penchant for comparing ourselves with one another and trying to derive a sense of well-being from that comparison. And where do we find ourselves? If the comparison seems to be favorable, we tend to hold our heads high in ugliness – the ugliness of arrogance, of a superiority attitude toward others. At other times, when the comparison does not seem to be favorable, we find ourselves being pressed down into feelings of inferiority, and we begin to struggle with a variety of emotions and attitudes. Some lose their quest for personal excellence because they don’t want to have to face the fact that they don’t “measure up.” Some give up altogether and quit. Others begin to fight in anger to prove to anyone who is looking that they too can be counted among the superior. Oh the sadness that comes from comparison.
Dear friends, the real prize – the only prize that counts – is one that anybody can win, if he is willing. It is the prize that you and every one of your children and grandchildren can win. It is the prize that comes to the one who is willing to run long, to run hard, and to run with ever-increasing happiness before God’s loving eyes – no matter what happens! This prize is for the runner that is focused not on being THE best but on being HIS or HER best!
Every day we must remember: “It's ok to come in last, if you did your best (your very red-faced best) and had fun.” That’s what the King wants of you!
Your friends in the Savior always,
Rod and Bec
No comments:
Post a Comment