Mister Rogers

It's important to be important.  It's important to be important even in the things we think are not important.  I stumbled upon some quotes and sayings of a guy who I met on TV that was apparently pretty important.

MISTER ROGERS QUOTES AND SAYINGS:

• "If only you could sense how important you are to the lives of those you meet; how important you can be to people you may never even dream of. There is something of yourself that you leave at every meeting with another person."

• “In the external scheme of things, this evening is as brief as the twinkling of an eye yet such twinklings is what eternity is made of.”

• "True wisdom is never separate from compassion.” -- lesson Fred Rogers learned from a mentor of his, Margaret McFarland

• "All I know to do is to light the candle that has been given to me.”

• "The first four years of life are more important in the developing of a functioning human being than the first four years of college.”

• "I think God is at the junction of every choice we make and is with us as our choices unfold.”

• “I love whimsy, don’t you? If you’re going to be working for children, you need to do your best not to lose your childlikeness…it’s wonderful to be able to just be yourself.”

• “Life is for service.” – simply framed saying in Fred Rogers’ office

• “There’s so much more to everyone you will ever meet than will ever meet your eye.”

• "There's only one in this wonderful world... You are special."

• When asked what the greatest event in American history was, Fred Rogers responded, “I can’t say, however I suspect that like so many ‘great’ events, it was something very simple and very quiet with little or no fanfare (such as forgiving someone else for a deep hurt) which eventually changed the course of history. The really important “great” things are never the center stage of life’s drama. They’re always “in the wings.” That’s why it’s so essential for us to be mindful of the humble and the deep rather than the flashy and the superficial.”

• When asked whom he admired, Mister Rogers responded in this way: “Jesus of Nazareth. Even though people wanted to make him a powerful ruler, he chose to be faithful to God as he knew God to be. He longed for society to know the kind of peace which comes from taking care of each one as a loving neighbor.”

• story I found in my Mister Rogers clippings (from an interview in 2002): “I’m so convinced that the Holy Spirit will guide us when we are asking for that. I wouldn’t have ever dreamed that I would have become Mister Rogers. I’ll tell you a little story. I took this seminary course when I was younger. I used to go on my lunch hour. After the semester I went to Nantucket, which is the usual place we go in the summer. And I had heard that this very famous preacher was going to come to the chapel there. I could hardly wait to hear him. Well, I got there and he had cancelled because of sickness. This man was filling in for him. My wife and I were there with some friends sitting beside us. And I sat there thinking, as this man was preaching, “This is the worst sermon I have ever heard in my life!” Thank God I didn’t say anything, because when it was over, I turned to one of our friends and I was astounded. She had tears in her eyes. She said to me, ‘He said exactly what I needed to hear.’ She had come in need, and I had come in judgement. So I am convinced that someone doing his or her best, whether it’s television or writing or whatever, that message is taken and translated in the space that goes to the person in need and meets that need. That was a seminal experience for me.”

I hope this said exactly what you needed to hear.  It did to me.

Comments

[danny Forshee]

This is good stuff, thanks Stu.

Danny

[flo green]

Stu, this year at awanas has been wonderful. You are doing a great job at getting their attention and getting down to some serious stuff with those kids. I really appreciate all that you and Sarah do in in the lives of our children. Thank you!