Last night, my thoughts were on the rock group Deep Purple. Quite a shift tonight as we look at The Osmonds. This is from September 29, 2012.
Good
morning from the St. Louis International Airport. It’s been a whirlwind trip for me to the Show Me State.
Last night, I spoke to the annual dinner for Christian Family Services at the Frontenac Hilton. It was a terrific affair and I was so excited to reconnect
with so many from CFS, where my father served as a marriage and family
specialist, and the Lafayette Church of Christ, where my folks were members for twenty-three years. CFS does incredible work for children and
families in the St. Louis area as well as Illinois. Over $163,000 was raised
last night, allowing this great faith-based group to minister to
families in crisis. Special shout-out to CFS director Steve Awtrey for making my
trip such an enjoyable one!
While
in St. Louis, I stayed for two nights with Trina Agee Cornell and her husband,
Bob, who I was blessed to meet for the first time. Trina and I started going on
Honduras missions together when she was a high school student and we
probably made seven or eight of those trips to Central America. While I
was waking up and getting ready to return home several hours ago, Bob went out for a twenty mile
run (that is no misprint!) and Trina left to work-out at the gym across the
street. As I was drinking my morning cup of coffee from the next door Quik Trip, which now counts me as a fan, I sat down and watched some television. I
stopped on the Biography Channel which was airing a documentary on singer Andy
Williams who died several days ago. It was a fascinating look at an entertainer
whose career resembled a roller coaster, including a definite uptick with the recording of his signature hit, Moon River. The documentary spent considerable
time on Andy’s television show which ran from 1962-to 1967. One big part was the
Osmond Brothers who became regulars and as a result, celebrities. How they came
to The Andy Williams Show was what interested me. Andy’s father had seen the
four original members of the Osmonds on television and told Andy he needed
to book the boys. Andy apparently had not heard of them but called the brothers in for an audition. Within five days of his father’s
suggestion, Alan, Wayne, Merrill, and Jay were receiving their first big exposure on
national television. In short order, Andy had little brother, Donny, on the show and then sister Marie. The Osmond family became mainstays and fame followed. Just think- if
Andy’s dad had not seen them, the Osmond’s might never have hit the big time. Donny might not have
become a heartthrob and Marie might not have become America’s Sweetheart. (My
mom thought Marie was absolutely the perfect teenage girl.) History changed because of one
man watching a television show and making a phone call. Just think of the incredible debt the entire Osmond family owes to Andy William’s father, Jay.
This
morning as Trina drove me to the airport, we talked about what could have been.
About five years ago, we tried very rigorously to hire Trina to teach at
Westbury Christian School. Many of us at WCS knew her through those Honduras
trips and were certain she would be a tremendous asset for us. In spite of a an all-out
recruiting pitch, she decided to take a job much closer to her home in
Nashville, Tennessee. I told Trina this morning that even though we were very
disappointed, it turned out for the best. If she had moved to Houston, she
probably would not have met her husband, Bob. She would not have been a part
of her church in St. Louis where she is making an impact as she and
Bob work with the young people. And she would not have touched the lives of the close to one hundred eighth graders she teaches every day in her middle school in Kirkwood, a suburb of St. Louis. I'm pretty sure the Lord would have been content if Trina came to Houston and He could have arranged in some other way for the two to cross paths. I believe He works through our wishes and prayers and His master plan although none of us can adequately explain it. Last night, I told the CFS crowd how my parents had three choices when they moved to St. Louis in 1985: Manhattan, New York, and Sioux Falls, South Dakota were their other options. Would they have made the same kind of impact in New York or South Dakota? I think so- they had the gift of letting God work through them. Trina has that same gift but I'm pretty sure Bob is glad it worked out like it did. The Lord knows what He is doing.
Applicable quote of the day:
Applicable quote of the day:
1 comment:
It's been a while since I've read your blog. Something (someone) led me there today. I frequently teach my school students and youth group kids that the choices they make follow them. They are rewarded or punished based on their choices. Thx, brother.
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