In the spring of 1975, a friend invited me to go with her to see Dr. Norman Vincent Peale speak at Unity Village, just outside of Kansas City. I was a huge fan of Dr. Peale, so I could hardly wait to attend.
When he stepped out on stage, I was dumbfounded. I had always envisioned him to be a tall, robustly built man. Here was a short, rather small-framed man. I felt so disappointed and whispered this to my friend.
When Dr. Peale spoke, he did so with warmth and eloquence. One of the stories he told that night had to do with one of his neighbors in upstate New York and an apple tree. It seems that the apple tree in question grew where the two properties jointly met the road on Dr. Peale's side of the fence. The neighbor was insisting that Dr. Peale have the tree cut down. He complained that its twisted trunk with gnarled branches was an eyesore and a blight on the community. Dr. Peale agreed that it was indeed an old tree, not as strong as it once was. He had installed a sort of crutch for support, and to keep a strong wind from bringing it down on the fence. He went on to say that it looked especially old and rickety in the winter.
"However," he continued, "every spring it is lustrous in a multitude of pink and white blossoms. In late summer those blossoms turn into some of the largest and sweetest apples to be found anywhere. That tree is doing the job God gave it to do." Needless to say, the tree stayed.
As we exited the auditorium, I thanked my friend enthusiastically for such an inspiring evening. "I was surprised he is so tall!" I exclaimed. My friend simply smiled and said she was happy I hadn't been disappointed.
When someone is legendary all that shows is their intrinsic value. That is their beauty.
No comments:
Post a Comment