Legacy Road Chronicles
Legacy Road Weekend:
The Birthday Party and a Man in a Wheelchair
As we walk down Legacy Road, there will be defining moments that inspire our hearts and shape us into the human beings that we will become. Sometimes it will be a sunset on the beach, the exhilaration of reaching a goal, the sight of your children playing, the sound of a favorite song, the smell of popcorn at a baseball game. All these moments....can bring home a memory and lift you to another place in time. For me and many of my family and friends, Legacy Road Weekend will always be remembered through a birthday party and a man in a wheelchair.
It sounds a bit crazy, but the truth is, most of our defining moments come at the most unexpected times and manifest themselves through regular ordinary events. It’s our ability to listen to our hearts and translate the ordinary into the divine that makes the difference. Such are the defining moments I have mentioned during Legacy Road Weekend. In fact, if you aren't listening and looking for them...these moments will slip right by and go completely unnoticed. I had an old friend tell me the other day, after I told him about a defining conversation with a McDonalds drive-thru window worker that, “I have missed so many of those moments in my life. It makes me wonder what I have missed. I have been too busy and rushed by many of these opportunities to really stop and hear the heart of others. It makes me sad to think how much richness and how many meaningful experiences I have sacrificed while tending to things that don't really matter at all.”
Legacy Road Weekend was magical! My family and friends produced a CD of original music about defining moments in each of our lives. Then everyone got together to enjoy the music and a time of celebration and encouragement about living for the lasting. One pebble thrown into the water can send ripples far and wide. Its amazing how much love can overtake the hearts of those who truly care and are passionate about making the world a better place to live. One such person is my friend, Kris Phillips, who lives in Knoxville, Tennessee, and works at the University of Tennessee. Kris really wanted to bring his family to the concert weekend but was unable to make the trip. He had shared with his wife his desire to help the kids of Nicaragua and be a part of Legacy Road. After hearing about his interest, his friends decided to give him money for his birthday so that he could make a gift to Legacy Road. What a touching tribute...instead of buying something for himself, he wanted to bless the children for his celebration. What would the world look like if everyone gave their birthday presents to those who truly need them? Now that is a Legacy Road memory and Kris’ fingerprint will be on every kid we touch in Nicaragua...thank you Kris!!
The man in a wheelchair was another divine affirmation of how God moves people to make sacrificial gifts as a beautiful display of the power of love. Gene Cotton, Jeff Francisco and I conducted a Legacy Road Workshop at a church the morning after the concert. We decided that a good way to end a Legacy Road Weekend event is to go into churches and teach about what it means to truly live a life of Legacy. We had no intentions of raising money because we are sensitive to the fact that many churches have their own missions projects. Gene sang a few songs, we showed the Nicaragua Project video, and I spoke for just a few minutes about Legacy. At the conclusion of the morning program a man in a wheelchair came up to Gene Cotton and talked with him about our efforts in Nicaragua. As Gene turned to talk with others, the man looked as if he had something else to say. Jeff inquired and made himself available to listen to him. He said that he would like to write Gene a check for the kids. He then asked Jeff to reach into his bag which was attached to his wheelchair. Jeff fumbled around in the bag and found the checkbook. Because he could not lift his arms or write with his hands, he asked Jeff to write the check for him. When Jeff was ready to write the amount, the man said that he would like to give $1000. Jeff was astonished and wrote the check as the man suggested. Then the man said, “Could you place the pen in my mouth so that I can sign my name?” Jeff humbly placed the pen in his mouth and watched him sign the check. It was a Legacy Road moment. The man in a wheelchair made a sacrificial gift….and touched everyone around him with his commitment and passion to live for the lasting.
When is the last time you truly gave a sacrificial gift to others? Could it be that life is more about what we give than what we receive? As we continue to travel down Legacy Road, we will share these stories of “defining moments” and ask the questions, “What will you be remembered for? What do you love? What do you believe? It matters...and your Legacy will be defined by what you give to others. “You only keep...what you give away.” Come join us on Legacy Road….
www.legacyrd.org
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My Thoughts on Books as Friends
October 2009
I love books. At times in my life,when I was randomly searching for inspiration, I would follow my heart based on some emotion or words, and then go in search of a book to light my way. The magic only happens once in awhile but when it does…it changes my paradigmn of life’s meaning. A book can open the door to your deepest dreams and desires. My picture on this webpage is the grave of Albert Schweitzer. It is a identifying symbol because it represents one of those “sacred moments” that I found a written example that changed my behavior and understanding. This moment informed my behavior about what is most important in life….what is truly fulfilling and meaningful. I was exploring an old bookstore in Atlanta, Ga. in 1994. I had never really heard of Albert Schweitzer but I remember out of all the thousands of books…a little paperback jumped off the shelf into my heart and mind. It was a seed planted in my soul. The book served as a bridge to a homeland that brought alot of my thinking into one place. The name of the book is, “Out of My Life and Thought.” In his own words, he told the story of the evolution of his mind and heart in giving up what I consider the greatest talents ever assembled in one human being for a primitive life of service in Africa. The impact the book has had on my life is truly ubdescribable.
Books are like good friends. They are always there for you and they never leave you lonely or without substance that is if you choose them with purpose in mind. They speak to you from the shelves and they are always dressed the same…their covers and yellowing pages…remind you of what is found inside. Ever once in awhile you visit with them again, just to be reminded of who they are and who you are or more important what you want to be. They never fail to transport me back to a time when I was a kid in the summer and would go to the old brick library in my hometown, Hartsville, S.C. My mother insisted that I participate in the summer reading program. If I close my eyes….I can still smell the musty old books…hear the dead silence of the room…and feel the incredible sense of magic that came from looking for just the right match for my dreams. Sometimes a sports figure…or a president like Lincoln would emerge from the shelves…but as I reflect, I was always searching for inspiration or even more…something outside of me to connect with what was inside of me. Tangible ideas that somehow threw paint on the thoughts and feeling that swirled unseen in the wind of my mind and heart. A book could do that…and when I would finally see the wind in the form of words…it was like finding a buried treasure. I never tire of finding the deeper meaning of my life in a book. It is one of the truest gifts I have experienced.
Just yesterday, I had the same experience, almost 25 years later. I picked up a book entitled, “Never Have Your Dog Stuffed.” by Alan Alda of the famed TV Show MASH. Its his own words about the journey to find meaning in his life and work. I had run into a commencement speech he made at his daughter’s graduation and loved the analogy he used about “best things are said last” – a visual of laughing and crying with friends and then as you leave to go home…”you linger at the threshold of the door.” as you turn around to say goodbye…”best things are said last.” I loved the emotion and human realness of this thought so when I saw his book on the shelf in the bookstore it called my name. Funny, unaware and totally blind,a book knows just when to find you and get involved in your quest to make meaning out of this complicated and mysterious world. I havent finished it yet but I cant wait to move deeper into its pages and uncover more of my soul. I know when its happening and its happening now. The sense he makes out of the struggle and challenges…the moment he spoke at his dads funeral, finding a picture of him in his estranged mothers lockbox at the bank after she died, the lessons on listening,relating, and after an exhaustive search in life,finally finding meaning and purpose in a TV Show that was full of laughter but ddressed the heartfelt convictions he had longed for all of his life. I would not trade this experience for all the money in the world…because if I did…I still couldnt buy what can only happen inside. Inspiration is not for sell…unless you are buying something that will not last. I dont like mingling in that store, the merchandise is cheap and it usually does not work three days after I buy it. The wellspring of inspiation is about the lasting…and believe me that stuff is expensive…it just doeent cost alot of money.
Schweitzer and Alda found me in the pages of a book or did I find them? In any case, life would not have been as rich or meaningful without their presence. Its exciting to think who else is preparing to enter my mind and heart through a book in the days and years to come. I have a feeling on the day I prepare to leave this earth…my most sincere and heartfelt wish will be….I wish I had one more day to read another book.
About my libraryMy library is a group of friends that I call on in times of need. They each have a purpose and role to play in my life. Some have had leading roles…some just stand ins for a particular scene…whatever the case…they all have different personalities and touch me in different places. I love reading about history, leaders, sports, archaeology, religion,
heroes…but my favorite is a biography. It combines a number of these elements into one life and synthesizes lessons learned and informs the future. So the books in this library will tend to reflect my love for this theme – the search for inspiration, meaning, and wisdom.
