Ever hear the old story about the fly who landed on the back of a pickup truck rattling down a dirt road? He looked back and said to himself, “My, my, look at all the dust I’M kicking up.”
I understand that fly.
Last week a Baptist pastor friend introduced me to an M.D. from his church. He informed the doc that I’ve been on NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, the syndicated Montel Williams Show and a few others. I may have meekly mentioned a few national TV shows he forgot to mention, as well as a couple magazines such as People and Better Homes and Gardens.
That same evening Alice and I had dinner with Kimberly, our daughter who is a freshman at Lipscomb University. I had just completed five Tuesdays speaking in chapel at Lipscomb and it came up in our conversation. Kimberly said, “We were asked to fill out an evaluation form for chapel so far this year, and one of the questions was how we felt about chapel speakers. They mentioned only two by name; you and (a famous guy that I hadn’t heard of). Can you believe it? They actually put you in the same sentence with him?”
I asked why she seemed so surprised by that. She replied, “Well, he’s like, famous. And they put your name next to his! Like, you know, you were in the same category as him.” Bristling, I asked what made him so famous. Among other things she mentioned he has written two books. I wondered how my baby daughter had forgotten that I’ve authored six.
As she continued talking about this guy, apparently in his mid-20s, and how thrilled she was that someone thought that her dad could be in the same sentence with him, my ego began to chafe.
When the contrast between lunch and dinner finally hit me, I smiled at God and offered this silent prayer as Kimberly continued to talk, “Okay, Lord, I get it. Thank you for the reminder. I imagine I’ll need it again along the way. Oh, and thank you for letting me ride on the truck.”