Claim to Fame

Three years ago when I was going through a week of Chaplaincy training, the gal sitting next to me revealed she was Derrick Rose's 5th grade teacher. Yes, "the Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls", who in 4 seasons has won:Rookie of the Year honors, League MVP honors, and has led the Bulls to the playoffs each of those 4 seasons so far. This was the teacher's claim to fame. I imagine it is every teacher's desire to see their students succeed in life and maybe become something prominent in society.

While I was vacationing in Southern California last month, I found it ironic that:

On one day Hollywood was giving out Academy Awards to movie stars for making movies.

And the next day in San Diego, 4 Naval ships that were deployed for 7 months out to sea were coming home. The scene was awe inspiring as wives,girlfriends,children, parents, and other family members waited ashore for their loved one's to arrive. If only there was an award given out to these brave men and women who serve our country.

While actors and actresses are getting rewarded for excelling at their job of making films, shouldn't soldiers,policemen,firemen and teachers receive the same accolades, if not more?

I guess everyone can and will have some claim to fame in their lifetime. And it doesn't necessarily have to make headline news.

Actors can boast about winning awards,teachers can boast about previous students who've succeeded but even the ordinary every day common person can have some worthy claim to fame.

Just off the top of my head I can claim: one of my photo's (pictured above) made it in a book of photography and one of my blog posts was read at a Memorial Service, without my knowledge of it. Boy, was I surprised!!

A son was to read a eulogy about his father and earlier in the day someone had passed along one of my blog posts that I wrote about his father. I never met the son and never got the chance to after the service, but I felt honored and came away extremely humbled.

The only claim to fame I am really seeking and one that you should do as well, is making it to heaven and hearing our Heavenly Father say,

"Well done, good and faithful servant!"