‘Turn Around’ Kids Happen
This week, I posted some quotes on Facebook that resonated with my audience. Here’s the first quote. "I need to get back in shape, but I'm kind of waiting to see if the world will end before I put any real effort in." Here's another posting. "I spend a lot of time holding the refrigerator door open, looking for answers." And this quote hit the mark. "Sometimes I sit quietly and wonder why I'm not in a mental asylum. Then I look around at everyone and realize maybe I am." Amen.
These days, it's easy or even expected to feel this way. May I suggest an alternative? Begin your day with an “I get to” mentality instead of an “I have to” mentality. “I get to go to work. I get to have a busy day. I get to serve others.” Whatever it may be, we often dress our opportunities up as stress. But what is causing us tension is frequently a blessing in disguise.
John Philips wrote, “The psychologist says, ‘Look within.’ The opportunist says, ‘Look around.’ The optimist says, ‘Look ahead.’ The pessimist says, ‘Look out!’ God says, ‘Look up!’” Patience is the art of finding out something else to do that is positive in the meantime. Perspective is the way we see things. Think about this. We all live under the same sky, but not all see the same horizon. In other words, we rarely see what we are not looking for. Is your current outlook coming from your mindset, “I have to, or I get to?”
I love real-life testimonies that inspire people. Here is an example of a couple you most likely have never heard of who did something unique. This couple found something to do in the meantime that came from a mentality of “I get to, not I have to.” This invisible couple parented a seven-year-old boy who became visible worldwide. What’s the lesson here? Being less visible doesn’t make you less valuable.
Here’s the couple’s and a boy’s life story. And the rest is history.
A grandson of enslaved people, a boy was born in a poor New Orleans neighborhood known as the "Back of Town." His father abandoned the family when the child was an infant. His mother became a prostitute, and the boy and his sister lived with their grandmother.
Early in life, he proved to be gifted in music. With three other kids, he sang in New Orleans's streets. His first monetary earnings came from the coins people threw at him after performing.
A Jewish family with the last name Karnovsky, who had emigrated from Lithuania to the United States, pitied the seven-year-old boy and brought him into their home. Initially, they gave the boy ‘work’ in their house. But the 'work' was just an excuse to feed the hungry boy. The little boy stayed and slept in this Jewish family's home, where the family treated him with kindness and tenderness for one of the first times in his life.
When he went to bed, Mrs. Karnovsky sang him a Russian lullaby that he would sing with her. Later, he learned to sing and play several Russian and Jewish songs. Over time, this boy became a non-officially adopted son of this family.
The Karnofskys gave him money to buy his first musical instrument, as is customary in Jewish families. They admired his musical talent. Later, when he became a professional musician and composer, he used Jewish melodies in some of his compositions.
The young black boy grew up and wrote a book about the Jewish family who had adopted him in 1907. In memory of this family, the boy wore a Star of David until the end of his life. He said that from this family, he had learned "how to live real life and learned determination."
You might recognize his name. He was Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong. "Satchmo" is Yiddish for "big cheeks," a nickname some say Mrs. Karnofsky gave him. He proudly spoke fluent Yiddish.
Here’s a takeaway for you concerning “Satchmo.” If you fix the boy, you will fix the man. A fixed man can fix the land. Of course, the same is true for women. Fixed people, fix people. Changed people, change people. No one can fix everyone, but we all can have a part in helping someone out. The poor immigrant couple stepped into a boy's situation. They committed to a long process of fixing up a 'fixer-upper,' and that attitude of “I get to” and the “I get to” changed Satchmo’s world and then the world. Maybe in these 'refrigerator staring times,' you "get to" might solve someone's problem.
Let's review John Philips's quote from this story. The Karnofskys 'looked around' and recognized a boy in need. Then the Karnofskys thought to themselves, let's 'look out.' If he stays in his current state, he will never reach his potential. Then they ‘looked in’ themselves and said, “We get to.” The Karnofskys 'looked ahead' and became what the boy needed: loving and encouraging parents. Where did the Karnofskys get the strength and heart to do all this? They knew God, who said, “Look up! We get to do this together."
Are you looking for something to do in the meantime? Find a need and solve it. And please remember, “You don't have to; you get to!”
Ed Delph/September 16, 2024/CCC