DREAMS OFTEN TAKE DIFFERENT ROADS

Throughout my life I have had personal dreams as well as dreams for the institutions with which I have had interest. As a teenager, I used to dream of singing and playing the piano with a gospel quartet. I loved the Sensational Statesmen and the world famous Blackwood Brothers. On the athletic side, I used to dream of playing baseball and basketball with some of the great players. Although I played high school football, I knew there was no possibility of even having a dream to play in college. At Baylor University, I was the voice of the Baylor Bears' baseball team. I knew I was the Harry Caray or Jack Buck of the Southwest Conference. In elementary school into high school and even into college, I dreamed of being the voice of the St. Louis Cardinals and broadcasting their games on the 50,000 watts of clear channel radio. WOW!

Life hasn't exactly turned out like I had dreamed, but it has taken turns that brought some of the early dreams into a different reality. Although never singing or playing the piano regularly for a major quartet, I have had the privilege of appearing with those groups on stage as a member of One Accord. I have never had the experience of playing baseball and basketball with the great players, but I have had the privilege of knowing Stan Musial, Lou Brock, Ozzie Smith, Ricky Horton, and Albert Pujols. I have not had the privilege of broadcasting the games of the Cardinals, but I have met the present announcers, Mike Shannon and John Rooney.

For serveral years, Sue and I talked about developing a workshop to assist people who had the dream to be a Christian song writer and help them develop. In reality, Write About Jesus has been more than that. Not only do registrants have the opportunity to learn a great deal about the craft, they get to interact with fellow registrants and the great Christian writers who make up the WAJ faculty. Many times registrants talk about the clinicians who "open their lives for others to see." Is WAJ what we dreamed? NO, it is much better. Isn't that just like God. You have dreams and He makes them better than you dreamed. I would not change the way things have turned out even though they are not what I envisioned.

Today, I have the opportunity to dream for the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority (MOHELA). This organization has been and continues to be a blessing for many folks. As Chairman of the Board, I have the privilege of dreaming of a direction no one has yet dared to go. It will be interesting to see how God directs this. After all, He is the one who put me here.