A Reason to Believe

A Reason to Believe
By Angela Baker
July 2008


I’m simply amazed at what we can learn from people. Months ago I had five defining learning experiences that came to me in the form of people. These occurred one by one in a two week period. Together they have helped me better understand why greatness matters so much and what you and I can do about it.

The first of these was my 14-year-old nephew. I sat across the table from him at a family birthday party. Eating our cake and ice cream, I asked him what he liked about school and what he was excited about. His response was an emotionless “nothing.” I persisted with an incredulous, “Really? You aren’t excited about anything?” He thought for a moment and then his eyes brightened just a very, very little bit and he said, “I am excited to get out of 8th grade so I can be in 9th grade. And I can’t wait to be out of 9th grade so I can get into 10th grade and I can’t…” You get the picture. He can’t wait to get school over with. School has no meaning to him and it is nothing more than something to be gotten done with so that he can move on. To what? I wonder if he knows. His purpose—to bide his time until its over. What an unnecessary waste.

The next was a young woman in my neighborhood who was home from college for the Thanksgiving Holiday weekend. She was in her first semester at a state university. I asked her how she was liking it and she replied dully, “It’s school.” Here is a young woman who is talented, and capable. She has so much to offer the world, yet all of that is dulled by her experience with “school.” Why? Because there is something missing in her “school” experience—something that could awaken her greatness and assist her in developing it. It doesn’t have to be this way. Her education could be so much more.

Another evening at a family Christmas party I had opportunity to visit with extended family I hadn’t seen for at least a year. One of my cousins is the mother of two sons ages 20 and 15. She was just a little curious about what I do with my seven children in our home school. I gave her the condensed description of what I do then asked about her life. She said that she tries to stay busy with scrapbooking and “stuff.” Sitting there I realized that our worlds could not be further apart. I could no better fathom her day-to-day than she could mine. Then she said, “Enjoy it while it lasts. When kids grow up they don’t need you anymore.” My heart hurt at her response. Something is wrong here, terribly wrong. There is something wrong when the role of mother is nearly abdicated and she is no longer needed or feels she isn’t needed. There is something wrong when mothers are told to make something significant of their lives or to find personal fulfillment and assured that both are found outside of home, children, husband and family.

That same evening I talked with another cousin who teaches in the public school system. He got his masters degree in education a few years ago from a state university. His response when he heard I had finished my masters degree at George Wythe College surprised me. He said, “Well that probably did you about this much good,” and he held his hand and fingers to show an inch. His cynicism caught me off-guard, but I tried to tell him that my masters studies actually did me a lot of good. I tried to explain why and how but fumbled dreadfully. I was saddened at his cynical response which said more about his educational experience than mine.

The fifth person was my aunt. She is a labor and delivery nurse of 25 years now required to go back and get a bachelors degree in nursing so she can keep her leadership position at the hospital. She said, “I am not learning anything that 25 years of experience hasn’t taught me. I am not learning anything that will help me with what I do. I am merely jumping through a hoop.” Then in our conversation, which occurred the same night as the one with my cousins, I clearly shared why my masters degree at GWC was so different and so important to me. It grew who I am. It brought me to my mothering a much better mother. It brought me to my marriage a stronger person. It brought me to my church service more capable of teaching and testifying. It brought me to my life a more whole and alive human being. It grew who I am and it was not a “hoop” I jumped through to get something else or to be something else. It brought me to who I am and who I need to be and it did this all along the way, not just when the diploma was handed to me. And it continues to have this effect even now almost a year after “completing” my masters degree.

The impressions left by these people are painful. My nephew, the young woman, my cousins, and my aunt represent thousands who feel the same. These scenarios are not isolated occurrences. Sadly, they are more the norm than we would like to believe. Mediocrity is painful. It hurts to see greatness wasted and I want to proclaim to the world that it doesn’t have to be this way. How I long to free the captive so clearly seen in each of these scenarios. Let me show my nephew how exciting learning can be. Let me be a catalyst in bringing passion into his life—about who he is and what he can be and do and share. Let me show the young woman what leadership education is and let her greatness blossom prepared to bless her life and consequently the lives of her husband, children and others she will have opportunity to influence over her life-time. Let me show my cousin that her role as mother matters, that her sons still need her, that her life has purpose and meaning. Let me show my cousin a masters degree GWC style and watch the cynic in him shrink and the greatness emerge. Let me show the world that education is not a “hoop” but a passage to coming to who we really are. How I long to show these things to the world.

But how? How is it done? Seven months of searching this question has brought me to three ideas and a place to start.

Give them Reason To Believe. As a ten-year-old girl, my favorite shelves of the library were the ones that held the children’s biographies. From the many books I found there, I discovered people like Abraham Lincoln, Abigail Adams, Booker T. Washington, Jane Addams, and George Washington. As I read their stories and learned of both their struggles and their triumphs, I came face to face with greatness. Their courage, determination, vision, and persistence to do what they did, spoke to my young-girl heart and awakened within me a hope that maybe I too could do something to make this world a better place. Their greatness gave me reason to believe there was greatness within me.

My little girl dream is not so extraordinary. Every child has a dream to be someone who makes a difference in this world. But for whatever reason they might come to not believe in their ability to really make that difference. Life has a way of clouding that dream with a myriad of confusing voices and distractions. In this world there are more than enough voices touting mediocrity disguised as “success.” What people need and what the world is crying for are more reasons to believe in their greatness. That belief is awakened, inspired, and given room to grow when a person experiences the greatness of another person. Greatness inspires greatness. I feel different when I am in the presence of greatness whether it is a book, a speaker, music, art or simple act of human kindness. When I experience greatness part of me opens, my belief grows, my vision expands, and I feel inspired to be more of who God created me to be.

But greatness is not about perfection or about arriving at some sort of lofty destination. It is about aligning ourselves with who God created us to be—real human beings with genius, who live, love, make mistakes, learn, grow, and serve. My oldest daughter plays the violin. She’s only been playing for 3 ½ years and I know there are many violinist “better” than her. But when I experience her expression through the violin I sense her greatness and I am inspired. That same daughter recently started running on a cross-country team. She is totally a beginner at this and hasn’t yet built her endurance or her ability, but in her courage to try and her willingness to run at the very back of the pack is a glimpse of greatness. I feel it and it inspires me to be more of who I need to be. Greatness is found all around us and within us if we will but recognize it.

Patrick Henry’s greatness was his powerful oratory. His greatness moved the colonist to finally declare their independence. Thomas Jefferson was a young law student when he heard or rather experienced Patrick Henry’s greatness. Patrick Henry’s greatness inspired the greatness in Thomas Jefferson which wasn’t oratory, but something different but also needed.

Recently my family attended a talent show where a young man recited one of Patrick Henry’s speeches. It took hearing just the first few sentences and I “felt” greatness both in the speech itself and in the heart of the young man. On the way home my six-year-old son said, “Mom, I want to memorize Patrick Henry’s speech.” This came completely out of the blue and totally surprised me. I said, “That was a great speech wasn’t it? I’m sure you could learn at least part of it.” His response: “No Mom. I want to memorize all of it.” Even my little son had noticed the greatness. He felt the difference and it gave him reason to believe in and reach for his own God-given greatness.

Once greatness inspires greatness and a person begins to believe in their own greatness they must take the next step and choose it. That choice is theirs alone. No one can make it for them. They must choose it. That’s their job. Our job is to give them reason to believe. Then when they choose it…

Show Them How. Going back to my little girl dream, I believed I had greatness within me, but I hadn’t the faintest idea of what it was or how to develop it. As I came to the end of my grade school years, I hoped that in junior high someone would discover my greatness and help me develop it. That didn’t happen so I looked hopefully to high school and then to college. I went through all my secondary public school and private university years hoping for this and cognizant that something was missing from my education. I didn’t know what it was. My education felt empty, and I didn’t know why.

It wasn’t until I was 34 and the mother of five children that I finally discovered what had been missing. All those years in school had given me a high school diploma, a college degree, and the qualifications for a job, but they had not grown my unique greatness. Finally Oliver DeMille showed me how to discover and grow my unique greatness. By applying the principles of Thomas Jefferson Education, I learned that the purpose of education should be to grow great souls. It should help students recognize their greatness, develop it and then use it to better the world. This is education. I learned that we can discover and grow our greatness by coming face to face with the greatness found in the classics. Greatness grows when, with the assistance of mentors, we go on our own search of the classics. It grows in proportion to our willingness to study the classics—not just books, but the people all around us as well. Books are really just people talking to us from a printed page. People are classics. Greatness is found in people.

Finally I knew HOW to discover and grow my God-given greatness. This was the missing piece and I am grateful to have found it. I lament that I didn’t find it sooner, but my lamentation motivates me. I don’t want others to have to wait as I did. Or worse yet, never to KNOW HOW at all.

Searching the classics—letting their greatness work in us—or rather letting their greatness be the vehicle through which God can show us who we are and who he wants us to be is vital to inspiring greatness first in ourselves and then in others. If you know this, please show them HOW. Mediocrity is painful. Its remedy is found in greatness. The world is crying for greatness. Many who would otherwise embrace their greatness simply need someone to…

Give Them Support and Encouragement. Developing greatness is a life-long journey. A long the way there will be intense challenges and obstacles. These are part of the process. Greatness grows not in spite of challenges but because of them. Wherever you find greatness you will find someone who has persistently and courageously beat overwhelming odds and overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles. There are times when we have to face the journey on sheer guts, will, and faith—hoping, working, believing, always moving forward one step at a time. Understanding this, we can embrace the challenges for what they really are and more readily support and encourage others as well.

Four years ago I hit one of those really hard times. I had been “doing” TJ ED for four years which included digging in to get my own education. I had six children ages 2-13. Among other intense challenges, I was caring for my terminally ill mother. What I carried was heavy and hard. I began to doubt whether I could keep going and if I even should. I spoke with a good TJ ED friend about my doubts and I said something like, “This is really hard. I don’t know if I should keep going?” My friend paused and thought for a moment then simply said, “You know you have come too far to turn back.” In that moment, the doubts fled in the light of truth. I knew that I could keep going--that I needed to keep going. So I did. The beautiful thing is that because of my study in the classics and the principles of Thomas Jefferson Education coupled with my faith in God, I found strength to meet those difficult times. Today from a new vantage point, I am so grateful for the encouragement and support given to me then. I also shutter to think what would have been lost had I given up and turned back when it was really hard.

Developing greatness is hard work and it goes hand in hand with the challenges of life, but it is also richly rewarding. When we walk aligned with our God-given greatness, patiently trusting the process, peace and joy are very real companions. Everyone of us will need support and encouragement at key times in our lives. Whether someone offers us that or not can make all the difference. Give support and encouragement.

What We Can Do About It
Last night my younger brother and I, via telephone, had one of those “catch-up” chats. We shared back and forth what was happening in our lives until I mentioned that my oldest child is preparing to go to college. Then our conversation changed. My brother asked what college my son would be attending and I told him George Wythe College. He quickly responded with, “Oh yeah that’s the one you got your masters from right?” I went on to explain about George Wythe College and why going there is so important for my son. My brother asked questions and listened—really listened—and then he opened up. He shared how lately he has been looking for more. He is generally a happy, up-beat person. He has a college degree, makes a good living, and has a wife and six kids. What he shared with me paraphrased is this: “I haven’t found my passion yet. I got a degree for the sake of a degree. I did what it took to get the grades, but I didn’t really learn. I make a good living, but something is missing. I want more, but I don’t know what that is. I’ve been thinking about getting a masters degree, but I don’t want more of what I already got. What you explained about George Wythe College makes so much sense. Hey! Maybe you could mentor me. Give me a book to read.” I smiled and offered the title: A Thomas Jefferson Education, and suggested we talk when he finishes the book.

What my brother is feeling is a yearning to discover, develop and use his God-given greatness. He’s not alone. This is universal. The human spirit yearns for this. People want to be what they were created to be—to reach their divine potential. People want to make the difference they were born to make. The world would simply be transformed if people lived their greatness, but our world doesn’t teach greatness too well. What can we do about it? We can give them reason to believe, show them how, and give them support and encouragement. WOW! All of this I learned because of five people—people who brought me more fully to my senses about the pain of mediocrity. People, who like me and you, yearn for the purpose, joy, and peace that comes in being all they were created to be. What about your nephew, or cousins or aunt? What about your brother? Together we can give them reason to believe.