Presidential Reflections

Do you notice that you never see George's teeth in any picture?

     As I was sitting here thinking about what a president is, and what an overwhelming privilege it must be to be able to actually change the course of history, I stumbled across some facts about some of our past presidents.  Here they are:

George Washington-Teeth were made from elephant and walrus tusks, not wood.

John Adams- First to live in the White House

Thomas Jefferson- Spoke 6 different languages

James Madison- Smallest President at 5' 4", under 100 lbs.

Andrew Jackson-First President to ride in a train

William Henry Harrison- President for only 31 days, died of pneumonia

John Tyler - Loved kids, had 15 children

Zachary Taylor- Never voted for a President

Millard Fillmore- First President to have a stove and running water in the White House

Abraham Lincoln- Tallest President, First President to be assassinated

James Buchanan- Never married, his niece was White House hostess

Ulysses S. Grant- Was fined $20 for speeding with his horse and carriage

Chester A. Arthur- Changed his pants several times a day - he owned 80 pairs of pants.

William H. Taft- Heaviest President - 332 pounds.

Warren G. Harding- Gambled away a set of White House china.

Gerald R. Ford- Held his daughter's High School prom in the White House.

Jimmy Carter- First President born in a hospital.

George Bush -Survived 4 planes crashes during World War II. 

William J. Clinton -Played the saxophone on national TV.

George W. Bush -Has a collection of over 250 signed baseballs.

    

      I am not sure if I would like to be remembered for having teeth made from elephant and walrus tusks, or owning 80 pairs of pants, or for being fined for speeding with my horse and carriage, or for playing my saxophone on national TV.    

     I think that what I would like to be most remembered for, is that I loved God and was able to show that to others.  Each one of us has a circle of people that we come in contact with at work, school, at the grocery store, at church, or even on Facebook that we have the privilege of influencing  in some way.    There is no coincidence that we have them in our lives.  

     On Monday, we had Lamb Celebration Day at our farm.  Over 200 people came to meet our lambs, especially our bottle fed lamb, Moses.  As I was putting a lamb on a little girl's lap, her Mom said to me, "Are you Niki Giberson?"  I looked up at her and realized that I had met her 25 years ago when she was a teenage camper at Delanco Camp, (which is a Christian camp in South Jersey) where I was a counselor for the first time.  She is now a home schooling mom, with three children of her own, who was scoping out my place for a field trip for her home schooling group, and did not know that the farm was mine.  It made me think, 25 years ago, I was put into a position to influence her life.  It is a little scary to think that I was a new, but very willing Christian and was being trusted with these teenagers' lives.  I know that it made a difference in her life in a good way.

     In 1 John 4:11 it says "Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another."  There are people in your circle that do not know this, and you might be the only one to give them this message.

     What do you want to be remembered for? Who is in your circle of influence?  Who needs to hear the message of God's love and hope?  You may never be president but you still have the potential of helping to change someone's course of history.