CHAPLAIN, Leon Whitt
CAPITOL CHAPTER, FMCA
Chaplains Corner
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A friend and Capitol member, John Piel is part of a team that has achieved a measure of greatness, just
recently they set a new Guinness World record for "PUNKIN CHUNKIN" and took first place in the annual
competition here in Bridgeville, Delaware. They now have bragging rights of being the best at what they do
in their 'spare' time.
Not all of us will make it into the record books. Not all of us will be remembered as being great at what
we do, but we can try to do whatever we do, the very best we can. All of us have varying levels of ability,
skill and talent. But we can all be good at just being WHO WE ARE.
Author James Michener learned something about greatness one stormy night during WWII in the South
Pacific. His plane was trying desperately to land on the Tontouta airstrip but could not do so. After several
attempts in the dark of night, his knuckles were white with fear. When they finally landed safely, Michener
went out and walked the length of the airstrip, looking at the dim outlines of the mountains they had so
narrowly missed. He wrote this:
"And as I stood there in the darkness I caught a glimpse of the remaining years of my life and I swore an
oath when peace came, if I survived, I would live the rest of my years as if I were a great man. I did not
presume to think that I would be a great man. I have never thought in those terms, but I could conduct
myself as if I were. I would adhere to my basic principles. I would bear public testimony to what I believed. I
would be a better man. I would help others. I would truly believe and act as if all men were my brothers. And
I would strive to make whatever world in which I found myself a better place. In the darkness a magnificent
peace settled over me, for I saw that I could actually attain each of those objectives, and I never looked
back."
Michener says that the very next day he started to draft the book TALES OF THE SOUTH PACIFIC.* And if it
can ever be said that he became a great man, I suspect it was only because he decided to be a better man
than he was before.
Fame and fortune, notoriety, greatness may not be our life's goals, but each of us can strive to become
better each day than we were the day before. We can help others a bit more, we can act more as if all
people are our sisters and brothers. If each of us would commit to this effort....starting today. In our own
small ways we will then find the world a better place each day for all of us to enjoy together.
The only difference between stumbling blocks and steppingstones is the way in which we use them.
- Unknown
recently they set a new Guinness World record for "PUNKIN CHUNKIN" and took first place in the annual
competition here in Bridgeville, Delaware. They now have bragging rights of being the best at what they do
in their 'spare' time.
Not all of us will make it into the record books. Not all of us will be remembered as being great at what
we do, but we can try to do whatever we do, the very best we can. All of us have varying levels of ability,
skill and talent. But we can all be good at just being WHO WE ARE.
Author James Michener learned something about greatness one stormy night during WWII in the South
Pacific. His plane was trying desperately to land on the Tontouta airstrip but could not do so. After several
attempts in the dark of night, his knuckles were white with fear. When they finally landed safely, Michener
went out and walked the length of the airstrip, looking at the dim outlines of the mountains they had so
narrowly missed. He wrote this:
"And as I stood there in the darkness I caught a glimpse of the remaining years of my life and I swore an
oath when peace came, if I survived, I would live the rest of my years as if I were a great man. I did not
presume to think that I would be a great man. I have never thought in those terms, but I could conduct
myself as if I were. I would adhere to my basic principles. I would bear public testimony to what I believed. I
would be a better man. I would help others. I would truly believe and act as if all men were my brothers. And
I would strive to make whatever world in which I found myself a better place. In the darkness a magnificent
peace settled over me, for I saw that I could actually attain each of those objectives, and I never looked
back."
Michener says that the very next day he started to draft the book TALES OF THE SOUTH PACIFIC.* And if it
can ever be said that he became a great man, I suspect it was only because he decided to be a better man
than he was before.
Fame and fortune, notoriety, greatness may not be our life's goals, but each of us can strive to become
better each day than we were the day before. We can help others a bit more, we can act more as if all
people are our sisters and brothers. If each of us would commit to this effort....starting today. In our own
small ways we will then find the world a better place each day for all of us to enjoy together.
The only difference between stumbling blocks and steppingstones is the way in which we use them.
- Unknown