Now That's Special

In 1987, I had the good fortune of witnessing an athletic performance that has had a profound impact on my life, particularly in regard to how I work with young people in teaching and coaching. 

I found a seat in front of the floor exercise area and enjoyed watching athletes of all ages and abilities perform their tumbling routines.  As the competition came to a close, the last participant was rolled onto the floor in a wheelchair.  Assisted by his coach, the athlete with Cerebral Palsy stood, and positioned himself in the middle of the floor.  Bent at the waist, his arms and legs severely contracted, I realized that every muscle in his body was fighting against his will to control them.  After helping him stabilize, the coach exited the arena with the wheelchair, leaving him standing alone, facing a full grandstand.  A hush tumbled over the crowd as if everyone was thinking, “What is he going to do?”  We had watched athletes run, jump, turn cartwheels, perform forward and backward rolls. I too wondered, “What could his constricted body possibly do?”  For several minutes all eyes were fixed on this young man, as he attempted to hold his body still.  He lifted his right foot, lost his balance, put it back down and steadied himself.  A few more long moments passed before he again tried to lift his foot with the same result.  At that moment, it was apparent that his floor exercise was to balance on one foot.  As if everyone in the stands realized this at once, the energy began to rise in anticipation and support for this courageous Special Olympian.  He tried twice more – gaining confidence with each attempt.  There was another lengthy pause before his fifth try. When again, summoning all the concentration he could muster to gain control of a body that had never followed instructions, he raised his right foot and balanced on his left for almost 5 seconds.  As his right foot came back to the floor, he slowly raised his fists in triumph, accompanied by a smile that lit the hearts of every spectator.  The crowd leapt to its feet with a deafening roar! Some people were crying. Some were smiling. Others stared with looks of amazement.  But, I knew in that moment that we all stood in appreciation and awe for having witnessed another human being’s courage, will and perseverance to achieve his personal best.  Rushing onto the floor, his coach wrapped him in a hug – he stood in her arms for several minutes soaking in the standing ovation.  Finally, she helped him back into the wheelchair and they exited the arena, leaving me, for one, feeling richly blessed.  (From an article written by Auburn Olympian Reita Clanton.) 

Our lives are filled with the 'feel good' stories.  We are encouraged to want to do better.  Our spirits are lifted to greater heights.  Experiences like this one force us to realize the things that are the most special.

Follow Your Instincts

There are many times when a choice has to be made and I hesitate because I'm not quite sure which direction I should go.  And I'm not necessarily talking about good versus bad.  Maybe the choice is good versus good.  Experience has shown that more times than not if I will follow my instinct, (God given gift) the decision I decide on ends up being what's best for me.
Our family attended Sacrament meeting today in West Jordan, Utah to listen to our niece as she spoke, prior to entering the Missionary Training Center, in Provo, Utah in two weeks as she embarks as a full-time missionary in the Indiana Indianapolis Mission.  She spoke of a church leader who counseled her to follow her instincts in relation to whether a mission was the right thing for her.  She spoke, today, with humility and gratitude.  We are excited for her opportunity to serve.
Each one of us has the opportunity to choose.  I hope that I will pay close attention to what my instinct says on any given days in my life.  God has built into each one of the us the ability to choose the things that we should do.  That internal compass will lead us to reach the potential that He knows we can.  The responsibility is ours and the rewards are great! 

I Love You

The words 'I love you' are three of the most important words.   Their meaning runs deeper than just the words alone.  They are the words that many people hear every day.  Some people haven't said 'I love you' in many years.
I was talking to Becky on the phone yesterday and the end of the conversation came.  I anticipated what the end of every conversation with her includes.  "I love you,"  Becky sincerely uttered.  I paused momentarily and replied, "I love you, too."  I got off of the phone and thought about the deep love that I feel for her.
Many years ago, a story was related to me about a young man who struggled with a personal battle that his father strongly disagreed with.  His father's pride stepped in to the point of disowning his own son. The man told him to leave his home and never return.  The mother's heart was broken and she watched her son leave.  A couple of years passed with no word from their son.  The son went his way and lived his life.  His heart was broken that his father no longer wanted to see him because of his personal decisions.  One day, a knock came on the door and to the mother's surprise, she opened the door to find her son standing on the front porch.  She wrapped her arms around him, overjoyed at his homecoming.  The father sat in the living room and upon hearing the sound of the familiar voice came to the front door.  He looked at his son and the anger instantly overtook him.  He sternly reminded his son of his words two years earlier.  He told his son to leave and never return.  The heartbreak in the son's eyes were more than he could personally take.  The father closed the front door, leaving his desperate son all alone on the front porch.  A few hours passed and the prideful man walked out to his barn behind the house.  As he opened the large barn door a wave of emotion overcame him.  To his astonishment, he found his young saddened son hanging from the rafter of the large barn with a rope around his neck.   His lifeless body spoke of the devastation in his heart.  He had longed to hear the healing words that his father could have spoken. 
I know that this story is probably an extreme one but I can't help but think of the importance it is to speak meaningful words of 'I love you'.  These words need not become only words spoken out of habit.  They are words that deeply penetrate when they're spoken with sincerity.  They are words that take on new meaning when actions accompany.  I want to be a better example of someone who truly loves and not just somebody who says that they love.  The impact we will have on people that we love will be far-reaching.  Our sincere love will break down all barriers.  Now is the time to let our love be known to those people that we care about the very most.  Now, is the time to love.

Can You Feel That?

This story ranks near the top of my favorite stories ever told.  I know that you have your own experiences that are just as meaningful.  Sit back and enjoy a good cry with me.  This story was told by President Gordon B. Hinckley, President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints until his death in 2008, about an experience in his father's childhood.

“An older boy and his young companion were walking along a road which led through a field. They saw an old coat and a badly worn pair of men’s shoes by the roadside, and in the distance they saw the owner working in the field.

“The younger boy suggested that they hide the shoes, conceal themselves, and watch the perplexity on the owner’s face when he returned.

“The older boy … thought that would not be so good. He said the owner must be a very poor man. So, after talking the matter over, at his suggestion, they concluded to try another experiment. Instead of hiding the shoes, they would put a silver dollar in each one and … see what the owner did when he discovered the money. So they did that.

“Pretty soon the man returned from the field, put on his coat, slipped one foot into a shoe, felt something hard, took it out and found a silver dollar. Wonder and surprise [shone] upon his face. He looked at the dollar again and again, turned around and could see nobody, then proceeded to put on the other shoe; when to his great surprise he found another dollar. His feelings overcame him. … He knelt down and offered aloud a prayer of thanksgiving, in which he spoke of his wife being sick and helpless and his children without bread. … He fervently thanked the Lord for this bounty from unknown hands and evoked the blessing of heaven upon those who gave him this needed help.

“The boys remained [hidden] until he had gone.” They had been touched by his prayer and felt something warm within their hearts. As they left to walk down the road, one said to the other, “Don’t you have a good feeling?” (Adapted from Bryant S. Hinckley, Not by Bread Alone, 95).

That story just makes me want to serve someone in need.  There are people who wait for people, like you and me, to help them.  Today is the day.

Do Your Best

In my high school Physical Education (P.E.) class there was a required run that all students had to do.  The run took up one whole class period, taking into consideration the duration it would take for everybody to complete it.  Your grade was based on a chart that listed your age and the amount of time that it took for you to complete the run.  Because our school mascot was the Rams, the run was called the RAM JAM.  In P.E. I thought that only an 'A' grade was acceptable.  There were some days when I would line up at the starting point of the RAM JAM and I couldn't stand the thought of having to run it.  I was never the fastest kid but I always wanted to get an 'A' grade.  Once the whistle was blown for me to start the run I dreaded it until a burst of energy would come over me and competition against the clock became my best friend.
Life is much like the RAM JAM.  There are certain things that don't seem the most exciting.  Sometimes those things turn out to be the very best.  
I work for the Boeing Company and I am a member of the team that builds the Main Instrument Panel in the cockpit of the 737 Commercial jet.  It is made up of many different sub-assemblies and every part is expected to be installed per the blueprint.  I have the desire every day to assemble and install every part, exactly as they are designed to fit together.  
I believe that doing my best allows a feeling of peace in my life.  I am trying to live my own life in a way that would be pleasing to those who care about me the most.  My personal measuring stick, when I do something in life, is whether Becky would approve of my actions.  I don't want to do anything that would embarrass her or anyone else in our family.  
Our RAM JAM of life deserves our very best effort.  Ready, Set, Go!

Life Is Great!

I recently observed something that, once again, solidifies my belief that life is very good.

In a local supermarket, I watched a man who was wheelchair bound.  He had no legs.  I wondered silently what the story was behind his legs.  I watched him closely.  He controlled the wheelchair with one arm and next to the wheelchair was the shopping cart.  He got around very well.  I noticed the strength in his arms.  He was an average size man but the smile on his face convinced me that life was pretty good for him.  I went about getting the things that I needed to get and thought nothing more about the man.  Iver the course of the time I spent shopping, the man had finished and gone out to his car.  When I came out of the store and got into my truck I noticed the man once again.  He loaded the groceries he had purchased in the back of a full-size van.  The van had double doors and he had both doors wide open.  I couldn't help but watch.  He got everything loaded into the van and shut the two doors.  He then wheeled his chair over to the passenger side of the van.  I watched him open the side door and a folded up lift engaged and lowered itself to ground level.  He wheeled himself up onto the lift and pressed a button that immediately began to lift him up to the floor of the van.  Without hesitation, I watched him pull himself from the chair and methodically fold his wheelchair and position it inside the van.  He shuffled himself to the driver's seat and then lifted himself up into the seat.  He reached toward the dashboard and obviously pressed another button.  The lift folded itself, this time into the van and then the side door automatically closed.

All of this in just a matter of minutes.  The whole time I watched this man do what he did with a smile of contentment on his face.  He accepted this routine as his life.

I am grateful for the example of this man.  I am grateful that people like him remind me that life is great!  I want to be the type of person that no matter what happens I can continue to smile. 

Taking The Time

There are some things in life that are fascinating to watch.  As a young boy, I would watch my dad tie his tie as he readied to go to church.  I was always amazed at how fast he could tie his tie. 

I still remember the day he taught me and my brother how to tie our ties.  Each of us had the tie we were going to wear around our neck and my brother and I watched and copied.  That is a memorable experience for me. 

I have shared that same experience with our two sons.  Brady is eleven and Danny is eight.  Both boys can tie a beautiful double Windsor knot!

I was missionary companions with a young man who was never taught to tie a tie.  His father tied his ties before he left on his mission and for the first eight months of his mission, all of his ties had stayed exactly how his father had tied them.  One of the pieces of instruction that my dad gave us boys was that part of taking care of a tie is the undoing of it when you are done wearing it.  Yep, you guessed it, I took the opportunity to teach my companion the proper care of his ties.  I untied each tie.  He was a little upset until I told him that I was going to teach him how to tie a tie, just like my dad had taught me.  So he and I grabbed the tie we were going to wear and together we tied until my companion knew how to tie his own tie.  He was pleased and so was I.

This seems like a very insignificant thing but for my dad to take the time to teach me how to do something that I would need for the rest of my life, is significant.

Whether it is tie tying, cooking, shooting hoop, taking the time to visit with somebody or helping someone do their yard work, the time that is spent to help someone else is priceless.

Take a moment today to do something for somebody else that lets them know how much they mean to you.  You'll be glad you did.