"EVERYDAY PEOPLE"

*** WEEKLY DEVOTIONAL - SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2021 ***

“EVERYDAY PEOPLE”

The United States Presidents who had the highest IQ was John Q. Adams, Thomas Jefferson, John F. Kennedy and Bill Clinton in that order. The four Presidents with the lowest IQ was George W. Bush, Warren Harding, James Monroe and Ulysses Grant.

Presidents, whether smart, clever, stupid or out in left field show the vast differences between book smarts, test smart and common sense. Good or bad, Presidents are everyday people like the rest of us.

President Adams is probably remembered more for having an alligator as a pet and keeping it in the White House that his high IQ.

President Cleveland, upon the death of his law partner, became the legal guardian to his 11-year-old orphaned daughter. 10 years later, they were married at the White House, making her the youngest First Lady ever at the age of 21. Far from “presidential.”

Harrison was President when the White House first received electricity but Harrison had a fear of light switches and rarely used the new utility thinking he would be electrocuted. President Hays suffered from an obsessive fear of lyssophobia (going insane). Sounds like another day in the neighborhood.

President Truman met his wife in Sunday School at age six. Yes, six years old. A long romance. One of the amazing talents by a President belongs to President Garfield who could write Greek with his left hand and Latin with his right hand, at the very same time. President Eisenhower changed the name of the presidential retreat in Maryland from Shangri La to Camp David because it was “more suitable for a Kansas farm boy.” Down home outlook like many of us.

Meet Abraham Lincoln Jones. Named after President Lincoln, he was the son of a carpenter and his mother worked as a housekeeper. They lived frugal lives, saving their money for the day when they could send their son to college.

Abe had reached his junior year in high school he was blindsided. An education psychologist attached to the school called the young man, just reached sixteen, into his private office and relayed the following bad news;

“Abraham, I've been studying your grades and I've gone over your various tests in motor and sensory impressions from your physical examinations.?I've made a very careful study of you and your achievements.”

“I've been trying hard,” put in Abe.

“Yes, you have Abe but in a way, that's just the trouble” said the education psychologist.

“You have worked very hard indeed - but it has not helped. You just don't seem able to get ahead in your studies. You're just not cut out for it, and for you to remain in high school would, in my opinion, be a waste of time.”

The boy buried his face in his hands.

“This will be hard on my mother and father,” Abe said. “Their one idea is for me to be a college man.”

The psychologist laid his hand on the boy's shoulder. “People have different kinds of talents and skills, Abe.”

“There are painters who were never able to learn the multiplication table, and engineers who can't sing on key. But every one of us has something special - and you are no exception. Some day you will find what your special gift is and when you do, you will make your parents very proud of you.”

Abe never went back to school. Jobs were scarce in town, but he managed to keep busy mowing the lawns of homes and businesses while puttering in their flower-beds. And then a curious thing happened.?Before long his customers began to notice that Abe had what they called a “green thumb.” The plants he tended grew and blossomed, and the rose trees effloresced. He fell into the habit of making suggestions for re-arranging the tiny front-yard landscapes. He had an eye for color and could make surprising combinations that pleased the eye.

One day while he was downtown he happened to notice a stretch of unused land behind city hall. Chance or fate or whatever you may like to call it brought the town's Mayor round the corner just at that moment. Impetuously the boy said; “I can make a garden out of this dump, if you'll let me.”

“The town's got no money for frills,” responded the Mayor.

“I don't want any money for it,” said Abe, “I just want to make it look better.”

The Mayor, being a politician, was astounded to find anyone who did not want money, under any and all circumstances. He took Abe into a city office, and when the young man came out, he had the authority to clean up the public eyesore. That very afternoon he borrowed extra tools and seeds and soil. Someone gave him a few young trees to plant.?When others heard of it they offered rose-bushes and even a hedge. Then the town's leading manufacturer heard of it, and volunteered to supply some benches.

Before long the dreary old dump had become a little park. There were grassy lawns and little curving walks and restful seats and a little house for birds. All the towns people were talking about what a lovely improvement the young man had made.

But it was also a kind of display window for Abe. People saw the result of his skill and knew him for as a natural landscape gardener.

That was twenty five years ago. Today, Abe is the owner of a prosperous business in landscape gardening with offices in several cities.

?Abe still cannot speak French or translate Latin, trigonometry is unknown to him. But color and light and lovely prospects are his bread and butter. His aging parents are proud of Abe, for he is not only a success, a man of standing and a member of the best clubs in town but he has also made his part of the world a lovelier place to live in. Wherever he and his men go, they spread beauty before the eyes of people.

One of the worst evils of today is the exaggerated importance given to so-called intelligence tests. Many other qualities besides agility in answering trick questions go into the making of human personality. Any person can fail all the tests and make a wonderful life.

One of the very basic facts we tend to forget is each and every one of us was custom made by God the Creator. (Psalm 119:73-74) That’s right, each of us is a hand made special edition.

Not only did God create each of us as a hand made special edition but He gave each of us different skills, talents and abilities. (Romans 12:6-8, 1 Peter 4:10-11). He gave us different skills and abilities so we could complete His will while serving others. Likewise, God each of us in all shapes, sizes and colors. We can be Hollywood handsome or so ugly our mama takes us everywhere she goes so she doesn’t have to kiss us goodbye but we need to grasp our looks and bodies are temporary housing places for the treasure God has entrusted to us. God defines this treasure for our hearts to shine with the knowledge of God's glory displayed by Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 4:6) which results in forgiveness of all our sins and victory over death.

Our true purpose in life is to seek and do God’s will by using our gifts, talents and abilities He has given us. (1 Peter 4:10)?By doing so, we may end up with an insight and an ability to inspire others that comes only through our very own hardship. Face it friends, some of us have had lives so tough we had to eat redneck caviar every meal and there's not too many things to make potted meat edible three times a day. Yet, those hardships honed our insight and abilities to inspire others.?

In the end, there are no “losers” with God. (1 John 5:4) Yes, some winners may take longer to develop. Or, as "Charlie Brown" liked to quip, "in the book of life, there aren't any answers in the back." Finding and developing our skills and abilities is a trial and error process.

Like Abe, we need to avoid the “shoulda, woulda, coulda blues” so we can find our God given talent. We all face failure, difficulty and discouragement from time to time. We always have a choice in how we handle it. We also have a choice if we hold fast to our faith in the Almighty. If we hold fast to our faith and we continue to develop the unique talents God has given us, we will know success at any level is possible.

Heavenly Father, thank You for making us a rare and unique “one of a kind.” Thank You for giving each of us different abilities and talents so we can serve, help rely on each other because we are all “Everyday People!”

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