I received an email from my daddy yesterday. It was one of those moments that you know you'll remember so you can tell your children one day about "the time your granddaddy taught me how to be great".
The letter is actually quoting my great grandfather's letter to my grandfather on his high school graduation. My great grandfather Earl Core was a man of greatness even in the worldly sense. He has worked with presidents, he was a botanist and professor at WVU, and discovered plants in Columbia to make Quinine to treat malaria for soldiers at war. But his impressive resume was not in the stories I heard growing up. I knew of a man that invited foreign exchange students to his home for the holidays, he married his true love that had no more than a 6th grade education, he loved God and his family. This man taught my paw paw Merle to be great, my dad to be great, and now my brother is great. I am so fortunate to be part of a family that understands God's definiton of greatness, "And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as they had need." Acts 2:45.
Here is an exerpt of the brilliant words of Earl Core, great grandfather, and sentiments of Mike Core, daddy, that led to my increased desire to be great!
"The truly great person is the one who carries more than his share of the burden. Many people because of mental or physical handicaps are dependent on society for a livelihood. The great bulk of the population makes its own way and no more, giving nothing. The few who are truly great are those who carry their own loads, and in addition, contribute to the general welfare of society. Columbus, Shakespeare, Edison, Bell, Washington, Beethoven, Rembrandt, Pasteur, Confucius, Livingston are men who left the world a little richer than they found it. I expect my children to be truly great."
Those that live for themselves are living with little purpose. They either hoard it all, live in fear, without hope, scraping to succeed or find the one thing they can't live without all to find in the end it wasn't worth the journey. But the brave few that ache inside for the burdens of others, they spend their lives trying to love others with no return accept for finding true love. Nothing is lost and much is gained in finding this love. They understand possessions, status, and luxuries are only lended to us in order to save the lives of those that lost it. It is God that is great! And those that know and love him are truly great.
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