Miracle of the Call

Introduction

"The call of our calling is the loudest call." Ralph Waldo Emerson

What do miracles and biographies have in common? For one thing, many like myself are fascinated by them. Perhaps we know that we too are called to achieve greatness if we can only crack the code, see a vision or acquire enough faith.

When reading a biography, we almost stand on tiptoe to see a miracle take place in the subject's life; however, the biographer seldom calls it that. If no miracle occurred, then why was this person called to such greatness while we are not?

Sometimes we can glimpse what might be labeled a mini-miracle, as it begins in a person’s life story. Hardly the same as Jesus feeding five thousand, but enough of a miracle to generate a sense of awe. Like when a tiny flame circles the edges of a piece of kindling in a new camp fire, this small miracle grows into a brightness that warms us deeply.

Frankly, watching someone else's miracle often makes us envious. Why her and not me? How come he succeeded and I haven't? I consider this kind of envy as a special gift...an indicator that points toward what I am meant to achieve in my own life. Otherwise, why would I have such a strong response to the success of someone I don’t even know?

In such cases, we experience one of two typical responses. The first is to assume that we are called to pursue the exact same path. More likely this response should serve as advanced notice to prepare ourselves as we wait and carefully listen for the specifics of our own call.

The second response when reading of someone else's accomplishments is to question our abilities. We think, "Well, I couldn't have done that." At first this may seem to be a cop out. In fact, it is the first part of this true statement:

I could not have done that...unless I too was called...and gifted in that calling.

And so, I continue to read biographies, often several a month, and keep a look out for my next miracle. The difference now is that I know better what to look for or work towards. Do I want to publish books, like Ernest Hemingway or Stephen King? I can polish my writing skills, accept rejection notices and keep learning while I wait. Actually, I've been doing that since 1977. Seem fruitless? The life of Grandma Moses demonstrates that not all miracles of the call come in youth.

About the Stories

The heroes and heroines whose stories you will read in this book were uniquely gifted for their futures in the twentieth century. This was initially hidden by an obstacle, a conflict, a wall someone, or maybe themselves, built. At some point in their lives, each person stopped thinking about what they were not and focused on what he/she could be. That was the true moment of the call, the miracle.

Jesus spoke to his audience using parables (stories). Like logic, stories are equally powerful strategies for organizing our thoughts. More importantly, stories make sense of our emotional response to seemingly senseless things that have happened in our lives and the lives of others. For example, how could the fact that young Reagan picked up his drunken father ever assure this son of a call to accomplish great things? Yet the story of how a lead character in a novel handled this same humiliation gave courage to the youth who went on to become an American president.

I have selected two of these compelling stories, one to bring in the century and another as the last story to exit this century of great human advancement. The remaining stories are arranged by occupation and then by date.

No one could have made up their stories about people so different and scattered around the world, yet with lives interwoven in this space of time.

Why the Twentieth Century?

Facebook has become a way for me to keep in touch with family. Since I daily read posts from those in their teens and twenties, I have noticed a trend. Youth prefer to take advice only from their peers. And yet so much of who we are is linked to our past.

I chose to write about twentieth century heroes and heroines, partly because they are my generation. Not surprising, right? But as Dave Meyer recently wrote, "history cannot be foretold (except by God). It can only be recorded after time and events have unfolded." Likewise he urged that history must be recorded in the order that it happens. Only then will we be able to see the miracles.

Future books may address miracle calls of the twenty-first century. By then, the consequences and results upon humanity of such calls should become clear.

Chapter 1: Launching the Twentieth Century

Two young men, inspired by the flight of birds, experimented until they accomplished what no one else had yet done. They followed in the footsteps of Leonardo da Vinci and on the shoulders of many inventors of the previous century. To these, they took their unique mastery of balancing a bicycle and applied that to achieve powered flight. What better way to literally launch humanity into this exciting century!

Wright Brothers: call to solve the problem of flight

"Isn't it astonishing that all these secrets have been preserved for so many years just so we could discover them!" Orville Wright

The Call

The call to build and fly the first, fixed-wing powered aircraft came to the brothers in 1896 while Orville was recovering from typhoid fever and Wilbur was reading to him.

Out-of-the-blue, miraculous even? Maybe. But that was hardly their earliest call.