From James Dodwell - Hammers of Hope
Good Morning,
It is early morning, I am sitting at my desk beginning my
day reading and reflecting on the last few days. On a shelf directly in front
of me are some old keepsakes passed down through our family. An old Brownie
camera sits starting back at me. I can see my tiny reflection in the lens. It
gives me pause as I remember posing for my grandfather on an Easter morning in
front of a blooming azalea plant, squinting my eyes in the bright sunlight, as
he took forever to take our, my siblings and I, picture. It would be weeks
before the film would be developed. Then I noticed an old butter mold sitting
beside it. I remember watching my great grandmother press butter from freshly
churned mike into the mold, letting it harden the pressing it out onto wax
paper before putting it in the “icebox” later in the evening.
A pair of eyeglasses, old and bent lay on the shelf above
brought back memories of my grandfather wearing them as he read the Bible in
the early mornings before departing for work; alongside, an old shaving razor,
again used by my grandfather. Old black and white photographs sit precariously
on the edges of shelves depicting people in old dress in front of old cars and
houses, some are familiar to me others not so much. Then I notice an old worn
out Bible, not the one my grandfather used, its owner was my mother. I recall
seeing it near her when I was younger, it was as if it had legs, a mind of its
own because where she was it was there also. I was slow to ready myself for the
day. I was enjoying going back in time, pondering the “what ifs” and the
“whys”, but duty calls and I move on leaving the past for another day.
These “things” from my past are meaningful only to me. They
are elements of my learning, teaching aids, if you will, that molded me and
shaped me to become who I am today. It wasn’t the items from the past that
helped me grow and remain teachable but the people who used them. I am part of
them, they are part of me, loving, and trusting disciplined individuals who had
a vision for me. They encouraged me helped shape my character and integrity. We
learn from those who have wisdom and experience that a vision should include a
principle for the head and a picture for the heart. We learn that encouragement
is vital; you catch more bees with honey than with vinegar.
We learn where there is no hope in the future; there is no
power in the present. If you stop learning today, you stop leading tomorrow. We
are shown that a vision without core values is like a winding road without
guard rails. These leaders taught us to communicate vision by always giving
people something to act upon. We come to the understanding that if we don’t
remain teachable and learn from our history, we will repeat it. We must
continue to learn, stretch and grow ourselves to reach our potential.
Good leaders are continual learners. Our world and people
are changing too quickly for us to become stagnate and unwilling to change and
mold ourselves into something more. New insights and new opportunities appear
all the time and we as good leaders must take advantage of them. We as leaders
in our homes, communities, organizations, and places of worship have to
understand encouragement is oxygen for the soul. Our walk must offer
encouragement to others and be centered on God. Our life’s walk should be
intentional, specific, personal, public, detailed, hopeful, and sincere;
centered around results only God can provide.
The end result; leaders who encourage always draw more from
their people than those who don’t. The portraits painted in my memories from
the items parked on the shelves of my office are there because of the
encouragement and support from the people in which they belonged, loving,
caring leaders of our family who took the time to help me shape my faith, to
encourage me, fill me with hope and support my vision and dreams.
Therefore, I encourage all of us to do the same. Share your
faith, love hope and joy with those around you. It will make a difference and
add value to their lives and ours, as well. Matthew 18:20
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