That’s where they’ve been throughout our marriage.
He doesn’t need to show them off to remember the thrill of winning them, I suppose. But it has always surprised me, just a little, that my husband is so humble about his achievements.
We are, after all, a culture that places enormous value on “recognize me, recognize me.” We want stickers, ribbons, certificates, letters, monuments, and one attaboy and attagirl after the next, to feel esteemed.
But maybe Tim had it figured out long ago. Life isn’t about accolades.
And I’m reminded of a quote scribbled on a scrap of paper, and tucked in a desk drawer, to remember that: “Your greatest successes will forever remain God’s secret.”
Real achievements are those moments, for example, when we are tempted to say something nasty and, instead, choose to say something gracious.
Or, at the very least, to say nothing at all.
They are the moments we use our time, our talents, our money, our belongings, our listening ears — our whatevers — to do something generous for someone else, without regard for being noticed, slapped on the back, written about in the newspaper, or even quietly or minimally appreciated.
Real achievements, genuine successes, are when we forgive.
And forgive again. And we do it without the person ever realizing, perhaps, how much she or he hurt us in the first place.
They are the times we offer up a silent prayer for a softening of the hearts of those for whom the hurting is intentional — those with lives so dreary that berating, threatening or harming someone else gives them a little tingle, a rush, a sense of being in charge or alive.
They are the moments we do what is right and loving for no other reason than it is right and loving, even for those with whom we disagree.
They are divine moments.
“Your greatest successes will forever remain God’s secret,” said that wonderfully positive thinker, the late Rev. Dr. Norman Vincent Peale.
In a society often choked by smoldering anger to outright evildoing, we need to be extra vigilant about how we each contribute to, or suppress, those things that contaminate our world. And we need to make good choices without regard for whether we will get a nod from others.
Divine secrets transcend the “me.” They are about all of us. (Or none of us!)
“Your greatest successes will forever remain God’s secret.” It’s such a sound, life-enhancing concept.
It doesn’t matter whether our trophies are hidden in basements or displayed under lights in glass cases, because hardware can’t possibly reflect real success.
Our greatest successes are secret. And they are divine.
Anne Koenig is editor of the Living section. Her e-mail address is akoenig@lnpnews.com.
Talkback on LancasterOnline
Welcome to the new TalkBack on LancasterOnline. Please use the comment box below to share your opinion on this
article. If you would prefer to use the previous TalkBack forums instead, please use this link.
