Hidden Strengths
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TODAY: Look for the hidden strengths in those individuals around
you — including your parents and those you think you know so
well — and remember that Jesus had the ability to see the real
person. As William Barclay wrote: “Not many people would have
picked a dour pessimist like Thomas to be his right-hand man, but
Jesus did.”
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Last year during Easter week, I took the kids to Kentucky for a visit
with my dad. It was my first trip back there since my mother had died.
Among the things I brought home were some of her writings, which had been
hidden away in the basement in old stenographer’s notebooks. What
a gift for me to find these, written in her handwriting before arthritis
made it nearly impossible for her to write.
I discovered how my mother used her gift for words, combined with her
years of Bible study, and shared inspiring devotionals with her various
church groups. I knew she did this, but I’m not sure I had ever read
one before. I particularly like the one she gave at a church planning
retreat, held the day after Anwar Sadat was assassinated on Oct. 6, 1981.
It is my honor to share the words of my mother, Esta Newman Todd, written
nearly 20 years ago:
We are aware of our nation’s mourning for Sadat and what happened
yesterday in Egypt and how it will affect our country. I’m sure
we all remember the small group at Camp David and how that group took
the idea of peace back to their countries. May our prayers be that
the “ideas of peace continue” in all nations.
Listening to the news media broadcasts of when Sadat was first selected,
we learn that no one thought he’d be the man that he turned out
to be. This reminded me of William Barclay, who wrote, “Jesus
had the power to see the hidden strength and beauty in every life
and waken the sleeping hero in the soul of every man.”
So many times we judge people from first impressions, from things
we’ve heard about them, the way they dress, walk, talk. Think
of your own!
I have a piece of green glass — just a remnant, an end piece
of glass I picked up in West Virginia at a glass factory. When you
look at it, it’s just a piece of glass — no life, no sparkle,
no brilliance. But sitting in my kitchen window, when the rays of
sunlight strike it in a certain way, it casts a beautiful glow on
my counter and ceiling. The brilliance is there. It needs the light
— and me looking for the brilliance.
People are like this. Everyone has some gift. Everyone does something
well. Everyone has some redeeming feature. It would make a difference
in this world if we looked for the talents and brilliance instead
of faults. If we do, we’ll get surprised, for we will often find
loveliness and brilliance where we never expect them to be.
— Becky Todd York
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