First Impressions
A lady in a faded gingham dress and her husband, dressed in a homespun threadbare suit, stepped off the train in Boston, and walked timidly without an appointment into the outer office of the President of Harvard University. The secretary could tell in a moment that such backwoods, country hicks had no business at Harvard and probably didn't even deserve to be in Cambridge. She frowned. "We want to see the president," the man said softly. "He'll be busy all day," the secretary snapped. "We'll wait," the lady replied. For hours, the secretary ignored them, hoping that the couple would finally become discouraged and go away. They didn't. And the secretary grew frustrated and finally decided to disturb the president, even though it was a chore she always regretted to do. "Maybe if they just see you for a few minutes, they'll leave," she told him. And he sighed in exasperation and nodded. Someone of his importance obviously didn't have the time to spend with them, but he detested gingham dresses and homespun suits cluttering up his outer office. The president, stern-faced with dignity, strutted toward the couple. The lady said: "We had a son that attended Harvard for one year. He loved Harvard. He was happy here. But about a year ago, he was accidentally killed. And my husband and I would like to erect a memorial to him, somewhere on campus." The president wasn't touched; he was shocked. "Madam," he said gruffly, "We can't put up a statue for every person who attended Harvard and died. If we did, this place would look like a cemetery." "Oh, no," the lady explained quickly, "We don't want to erect a statue. We thought we would like to give a building to Harvard. The president rolled his eyes. He glanced at the gingham dress and homespun suit, then exclaimed, "A building! Do you have any earthly idea how much a building costs? We have over seven and a half million dollars in the physical plant at Harvard." For a moment the lady was silent. The president was pleased. He could get rid of them now. And the lady turned to her husband and said quietly, "Is that all it costs to start a University? Why don't we just start our own?" Her husband nodded. The president's face wilted in confusion and bewilderment. And Mr. and Mrs. Leland Stanford walked away, traveling to Palo Alto, California, where they established the University that bears their name, a memorial to a son that Harvard no longer cared about.
Moral of the Story: Sometimes first impressions are wrong. Someone might look like a chunk of gold, and quickly rust. Or we might turn away someone with drive, loyalty, ambition, determination, etc. We hear that what goes around, comes around. Just in case that might actually be true and in case you have ever felt underappreciated, then you might consider taking advantage of the next opportunity to look a little deeper for the goodness in others.
What are you thinking right now? I'm sure the same thing I am. Some of these letters are really convicting. As I think back, I can remember times that I passed up a wonderful friendship with someone because of either what others thought or looks, etc.. When you get over the insecurity of what others will think about you, you will realize that many people are great despite the "flaws" you see from the outside. Very rarely do we meet someone who is extremely popular, has everything people would want..who has a great heart. The main thing we need to get past is looks. Jesus does not look down on people when others might, so why should we do it just to fit in? Instead, we should make it a point not to show favoritism when other people do. Be extradorinary, like Christ. Take time to get to know those who are less liked around you, I'm sure you will discover a wonderful person in the process!
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