Ready to Board?

 According to an article on the front page of the newspaper, the local Board of Education recently unanimously approved a new Deputy Superintendent. Although some might consider his unanimous appointment to such a prestigious position a “lucky break,” the truth is he had been advancing throughout his two decades in public education. As he transitioned through various roles such as classroom teacher, instructional coach, assistant principal, and district administrator, he amassed a proven and impressive record of leadership, service, and dedication to student success. Additionally, those broad areas of experiences gave him a comprehensive understanding of the areas he will now oversee.

Meanwhile, he advanced his own education, earning a Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership and other advanced degrees. He also served as an adjunct professor at a university where he helped prepare future educational leaders.

He is committed to excellence in his personal life, as well. He and his beautiful and talented wife have been married for 27 years, have two children who are now successful adults, and are active in their church.

Reading about his success reminded me of this insightful quote (of uncertain origin): “The harder I work, the luckier I get.”

Phyllis A. Whitney, a prolific author from yesteryear, would agree. In Guide to Fiction Writing, she says that other writers would comment on how “lucky” she had been to have met with such success, especially since she acknowledges her talent, in the beginning, was “untrained” and “modest.” Along with blows and disappointments, she received extraordinary breaks, leading her to conclude: “Opportunity is like a train on an endless track. Now and then it makes a stop at your station, often without fanfare, and without warning” (p.4).

ChatGPT created this image,
 using prompts provided by the author.

Referring to an unexpected opportunity that had been given to her, she says, “How very, very lucky that the train had stopped where I could get aboard. Or was it possible that without realizing it I had been getting ready for that train for a long time?” (p.5).

Indeed, she had been preparing herself even with no train — no opportunity — in sight. She’d been learning the craft of writing and continuing to write, write, write, refusing to give up even when some of her work was rejected for publication. Thus, she was ready when the train stopped, and her life took a turn for the better (p.5).

She believes “life is full of trains that stop. What counts is what we are doing with our lives when there is no opportunity and not a train in sight” (p.6)

 She says, “The lucky breaks that worked out were generally followed or preceded by some positive action on my part” (p.6).

 I assume the new Deputy Superintendent would affirm her wise words, including these: “What you do now counts. Never mind the rejections, the discouragement, the voice of ridicule…. Work and wait and learn, and that train will come by” (p.9)

Get In the Race!

While listening to an interview with Dean Graziosi, I heard him say,  "You have inside of you what it takes to accomplish your dreams." 

I argued silently with him. Maybe you do, but I don't.

When he said, "You have more resources and talents inside you than you can possibly imagine," I wanted to yell, You don't know me. If you did, you'd see how limited I am, when compared to others.

Even though he couldn't hear me disagreeing with him, he challenged my stinkin' thinking with these words: "You have more to give the world than you realize. Self-doubt stops you from taking steps toward your goals."

I shut up and listened to more of his wise counsel: "I’d rather come to the end of my life knowing I’d tried and failed than to have spent my life waiting on the sidelines for that perfect moment. Take action! Go for it! Now! Don’t wait to start!"

As I reflected on his words, I recalled having taken photos at a harness racing track. As I looked at hundreds of photos of beautiful horses giving their best as they sped around the track, I realized that failing to win a race doesn't mean a horse isn’t strong and capable. It just means another horse did a bit better in that particular race than he did. 

But if his owner enters him in another race and gives him another opportunity to do his best, he just might win! But he definitely won't win if he refuses to train and to try again and again..... 

Each time he races, he becomes a better and stronger competitor--even if he doesn't officially win.   

Horses have been given the strength and the desire to run well. So have I. So have you. Let's stop watching others run. Let's get in the race and do whatever we're gifted to do!

Never Give Up!

Dr. Jane Goodall, now 84, recalls the wise counsel her mother gave her many years ago when going to Africa and living with the animals and writing books about them was only a dream in young Jane's heart.

"If you really want to do this thing, you will have to work really hard, take advantage of all opportunities -- but never give up." (p.18, Renew magazine, Spring 2019)

Jane took her mother's advice and, consequently, has done far more than she ever imagined.

You and I will benefit from following Jane's mother's advice and that of the apostle Paul. 

Brick by Brick

When I read the insight James Clear added to a familiar quote, I realized he was right. Indeed, “Rome wasn’t built in a day, but they were laying bricks every hour.”

Worthwhile projects take time and effort. None of us can construct something magnificent overnight, no matter how much we wish we could. However, we’ll witness our dreams becoming more and more of a reality if only we’ll follow the example of hardworking brick masons. They build beautiful structures by laying one brick at a time, hour after hour and day by day. Furthermore, they work as long as it takes to finish the job.

How hard and how faithfully do we work to reach our goals?

Elevator People and Ball Carriers

Dr. John Maxwell says we need to find elevator people and ball carriers and then keep them near us as we strive to reach our goals.

Elevator people help us go higher than we could ever go by ourselves. I’ve been blessed with several of them through the years, as I hope you have. For example, a dear friend (Nancy) contacted a publisher in her town and said, “I think you need to run Johnnie Gaskill’s column in your magazine.”

He replied, “Ask her to email me some samples.”

I did. He liked them. Consequently, I’ve written monthly columns for him since 2008. Had it not been for my sweet elevator friend who believed in my work and promoted it, my writing would not be available to 40,000+ readers each month!

Ball carriers help us avoid “dropping the ball” in the first place; but when we do, they help us pick it up and resume running toward the finish line with it. Another dear friend (Linda) has been one of my ball carriers for over 50 years. She has helped me do many things I thought I could not do. She’s also been my go-to person for “all things grammar.”

I thank God for Nancy and Linda and for every elevator person and ball carrier God has brought into my life. I’m trusting Him to keep me well-supplied with them. I’m also looking to see who needs me to be an elevator person or a ball carrier for them.

Take the Steps!

The elevator to success is out of order. You'll have to use the stairs...

one step at a time.

~Joe Girard

My Eyes Are on Thee

What do you do when you face a huge problem, one that seems beyond human ability to solve?

Perhaps you do what I am prone to do: Worry! Talk with others to get their “take” on it. Consult the experts. Eat comfort food. Mope around, weighted down with despair and uncertainty.

But, Dear Reader, if you and I are wise, we’ll do what King Jehoshaphat did many centuries ago when hordes of enemies were coming to attack his kingdom. He first sought the Lord’s will in the matter: he prayed; he fasted; he commanded his countrymen to do the same.

I love the conversation he had with God. (Thankfully, it’s recorded in 2 Chronicles, chapter 20.) The king said, “We are powerless against this great horde….We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on Thee.”

What did God say? Here’s a paraphrased gist of it, which is what He says to us whenever we cry out to Him for help: “Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at the size/scope of the problem. The battle is not yours but Mine…You will not need to fight in this battle. Instead, go out against the enemy; but then, knowing I am with you, stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the LORD on your behalf” (Based on vv. 12-17).

As promised, God gave them a great victory, and the king and his army didn’t even have to fight the enemy!

Wouldn’t we love for God to do that for us? He will—if only we’ll turn to Him in humility and trust in His love for us and His willingness to help us. (After all, we ARE His children, the children He loves!) 

Do we have to be perfect in order for God to do something miraculous for us? No! King Jehoshaphat certainly wasn’t. Although he’d done much that was right, he did have some bad decisions on his record, as you and I certainly do.

So…Dear Reader, let’s seek the Lord, rely on Him, and thank Him and praise Him (in advance!) for the victory He will give us. 

Every Step Counts!

Around the middle of January 2015, I received an e-mail from the good folks at Fitbit® informing me that I had walked 696 miles in 2014. In doing so, I’d taken over 1.5 million steps (1,696,496, to be exact). I was shocked I’d walked that much!

But then I read the note near the bottom of the e-mail, which said, in essence, “Every single step you took during your very busy days added up to something big, something really big!”  You know, that’s very true. Most days, I do some intentional walking, like in my neighborhood. But the many steps I’ve taken while running errands or going on photo shoots or doing household chores or volunteering at the local hospital, etc. have brought me closer to my goal.

What is my goal? To walk from my home in Georgia to a small town in Nevada where a dear friend lives. I embarked upon this “virtual” journey in October 2013.  I reached Oklahoma City at the end of Jan. 2015 and am heading to Amarillo, which is 1139 miles from where I live. That’s still a looooong way from Wellington, Nevada, but I’ll eventually get there, step by step, mile by mile.

As I reflected on that, I realized anew that nearly every goal we set is achieved in small increments. For example, losing weight, learning how to do something, etc. As the Bible says, “For it is precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little” (Isaiah 28:10, ESV).

Step. Step. Step. Every one counts!!!

Drip! Drip! Drip!

Drip. Drip. Drip. One drop followed another, each splashing into a glass bowl half-filled with water. Our assignment was to photograph a drop after it hit the water and splashed upward. That was easier said than done!

Some of the 11 photographers who were trying to accomplish that ended up with a few beautiful images. As you might guess, not every picture was a keeper. One photographer said she tried more than 50 times to get a shot she liked. I finally managed to snap a few pictures of drops as they rebounded from the water; but, alas, none of mine were sharply focused. Therefore, I won’t be able to use them in any way. However, I plan to keep a few of the best ones on my hard drive, since they represent my first attempt at photographing a water droplet in motion.

Frequently throughout the all-day photography workshop, we had to use an empty detergent bottle to suction out the excess water in our bowls. I was surprised at how quickly the bowls filled up. After all, there was only one drop falling at a time. Drip. Drip. Drip. Yet, those individual drops made a difference!

A few days after the workshop, I listened to a speech that had been given at a photography workshop a year ago. The speaker reminded everyone that sales, even little ones, do add up. “It’s like water dripping from a faucet,” she said. “Drip. Drip. Drip. Your little successes may not seem like much, but, over time, they’ll add up.”

Her words encouraged me, not only in regard to photography, but to life in general. Little things we do consistently and to the best of our ability will, over time, make a difference.

For example, since I’ve rejoined The Wellness Center, I’m hearing about dramatic changes in many of the people who go there regularly to exercise. One friend has lost over 40 pounds. Another now has a full range of motion in knees that once were too stiff and sore to move very much. Another has lowered (significantly!) her blood pressure and cholesterol.

These changes didn’t happen overnight. Like the drip, drip, drip of the water, the frequent visits to the Wellness Center, over time, slowly added up, making a noticeable difference.

Rather than just sitting around wishing, hoping, and praying for change, the clients are working day by day to achieve their fitness goals. And, as I said, they are experiencing remarkable success.

No matter where we want to go in life or what we want to achieve, we reach our goal step by step by step, don’t we? Whether it’s restoring order to a cluttered space or training for a career, we do it bit by bit by bit.

As I reflected on all these things, I recalled a parable (an earthly story with a spiritual application) Jesus told. In the story, three servants are called to appear before their master to give an account of how they had managed the money he had given to them to use while he had been away. Two servants had managed the money wisely; one had not.

Read all about it in the 25th chapter of Matthew. Notice what the master said when he commended the two wise servants: “You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!” (verses 21 and 23).

Being faithful in little things really does matter! So, let’s consistently take the small steps needed to get us to wherever we want to go. Step. Step. Step.

©2010 by Johnnie Ann Burgess Gaskill. For permission to use the photos and/or the text, please contact her.

Hands of the Potter

Note: This photo was taken a couple of years after the column was written. This image shows the hands of the potter over those of a young girl.

I watched in awe as a skilled potter shaped a blob of clay into a small bowl. As the wheel spun around and around, the potter cupped her hands around the wet, supple clay she’d placed in the center of the wheel. Once the bowl began to take shape, the potter placed her right hand outside the bowl and her left hand inside the bowl. By applying gentle pressure—inside against outside, outside against inside—she used her fingers to create the details she wanted the bowl to have.

“I’ve got it started,” she said to a young boy who was watching the demonstration. “See what you can do with it.”

She got up from her chair, and the boy, who looked to be around 12 years old, sat down. She said, “Press the pedal so you can see how fast the wheel will go.” He did.

“Slow it down,” she said. He complied.

“Too slow,” she said. “Try to set the speed somewhere in between.”

After he’d cupped his hands around the clay, she squatted beside him and used her hands to help him shape the clay.

Watching the teacher with the pupil reminded me of a phrase I heard years ago: “Each one teach one.”

Teaching often involves more than simply telling and/or showing someone how to do something. So, as the learner struggled to obey her instructions and replicate her actions, she provided additional guidance by actually taking his hands in hers, allowing the gentle pressure from her fingers to guide his. As a result of their working together, the bowl turned out fine.

As I reflected on that, I thought about how I’ve often wished I could’ve heard Jesus speak and watched His actions—and had Him come to my aid whenever I’d messed things up. How wonderful, I’ve often thought, to be among those who say, as one of His disciples did, “We have seen him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands” (1 John 1:1, New Living Translation).

Although the “Teacher,” as many called Him, is no longer on earth in bodily form, I am not without a master teacher, and neither are you, dear reader. You see, after Jesus returned to heaven, God sent us another teacher, one Jesus referred to as the Counselor, the Paraclete, the One who comes alongside. (See John 16.) The Spirit guides us as surely as the potter guided the young boy, as surely as Jesus would if we could receive instruction directly from His lips or feel the guiding touch of His hands on ours as we work, as we minister according to His commands.

Since we have the Spirit to accurately teach us and to divinely enable us, we can know and do infinitely more than we ever could on our own. Like the young boy who would have made a mess of the bowl (apart from the potter’s presence and patient assistance), you and I will make a mess of our work (of our ministry) if we depend solely on our own abilities. Even the most earnest effort is not sufficient for success—apart from the Spirit’s help—for, as God said centuries ago, “It is not by [mankind’s] might nor by power, but by my Spirit” (Zechariah 4:6, NLT).

Copyright © 2005 by Johnnie Ann Burgess Gaskill. For permission to use, please contact her.