Dear Crosswalkers,
A scholarly article in The Wilson Quarterly highlights a study that dispels the myth of the lone genius. Apparently, we are made to work together in friendships and partnerships. The study points out that the eminent social theorist Erik Erikson acknowledged that his wife of 66 years, Joan Erikson, worked with him so closely that it was hard to tell where her work left off and his began. But she doesn’t even have a Wikipedia entry and he is world famous. The study points out that the Frenchman Braque and the Spaniard Picasso created Cubism together, but the lively and witty Spaniard became the star while the quiet Frenchman was relegated to the shadows. Could Steve Jobs have reinvented Apple apart from the creative designer Jonathan Ive? Maxwell Perkins was a great editor who discovered and shaped the works of F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway. How much of their creative genius would have been realized without the genius of their editor and silent partner in the wings? According to the rules of the PGA tour, professional golfers must play tournaments without coaches or managers. So the caddie ends up assuming the role of psychologist, strategist, and wise counselor. Tiger Woods, has had caddie Steve Williams by his side for nearly 11 years. Does Williams get the credit he deserves for his boss’s success on the links? At the 2000 PGA Championship, on the second to the last hole of the tourney, Woods needed a birdie to catch the leader. Williams calculated his approach shot was 95 yards to the flag—but he told Woods 90. Williams told Golf magazine: "Tiger's distance control was a problem, so I would adjust yardages and not tell him." Woods ended up hitting the ball inside two feet from the cup and went on to win. Williams has said that he gave Woods incorrect yardages for nearly five years! Emily Dickinson was a poetic genius, but history has discovered her decades-long bond with her sister in law, Susan. Dickinson called her “Imagination” and Susan was a constant source of inspiration to the famous Emily.
In The Masculine Mandate: God's Calling to Men, author Richard Phillips shows us that behind many of the great men in history is a humble person, a quiet friend, who helped make that man great. Phillips writes:
There are two statues in Washington D.C. that together tell a remarkable story. One is the massive memorial to General Ulysses S. Grant that stands at the east end of the Reflecting Pool, literally in the morning shadow of the U. S. Capitol building. Visitors can hardly miss this majestic depiction of the legendary general atop his war stallion. Grant's military leadership was decisive to the Union's victory in the Civil War, and he is considered a symbol of the force of human will, an icon of the strong man who stands against the storm when all others have shrunk back. Some two-and-a-half m
iles away, in a pleasant but nondescript city park, stands a more commonplace memorial. The statue of this lesser-known Civil War figure, Major General John Rawlins, has actually had eight different locations and is hardly ever noticed by visitors. Rawlins had been a lawyer in Galena, Illinois, where Grant lived just prior to the war, and he became Grant's chief of staff. Rawlins knew Grant's character flaws, especially his weakness for alcohol. At the beginning of the war, Rawlins extracted a pledge from Grant to abstain from drunkenness, and when the general threatened to fall away from that promise, his friend would plead with him and support him until Grant could get back on track. In many ways, it was Rawlins who stood beside the seemingly solitary figure of Grant the great general. Rawlins' memorial is modest compared to the mounted glory afforded Grant, yet without his unheralded love and support, Grant would hardly have managed even to climb into the saddle.
iles away, in a pleasant but nondescript city park, stands a more commonplace memorial. The statue of this lesser-known Civil War figure, Major General John Rawlins, has actually had eight different locations and is hardly ever noticed by visitors. Rawlins had been a lawyer in Galena, Illinois, where Grant lived just prior to the war, and he became Grant's chief of staff. Rawlins knew Grant's character flaws, especially his weakness for alcohol. At the beginning of the war, Rawlins extracted a pledge from Grant to abstain from drunkenness, and when the general threatened to fall away from that promise, his friend would plead with him and support him until Grant could get back on track. In many ways, it was Rawlins who stood beside the seemingly solitary figure of Grant the great general. Rawlins' memorial is modest compared to the mounted glory afforded Grant, yet without his unheralded love and support, Grant would hardly have managed even to climb into the saddle.
This Sunday we will look at “How to Have Healthy Friendships.” The Bible says,
Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble(Ecclesiastes 4:9-10).
Contemporary studies confirm what the Bible has said all along! God made us for relationships, and that includes healthy, caring friendships. We all need someone to confide in, someone who believes in us, someone who will be brutally honest with us, someone who will help us on the journey. We need someone we can bless and encourage and invest our lives in. Are you willing to be a quiet friend to someone? Do you have a quiet friend to whom you can show your appreciation?
Why not invite a friend to come to church with you this Sunday as we celebrate healthy friendships?
I hope to see you in church this Sunday!!
Blessings,
Pastor John
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