“A man’s gift makes room for him, and brings him before great men.” (Proverbs 18:16 NKJV)
“So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor.” (1 Peter 5:6 NLT)
“All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty.” (Proverbs 14:23 NIV)
The year is 1978-79.
The place is Napoleon High School.
The setting is the Eastern Michigan University President’s Award.
I was on the verge of a major crash. I was acting much like Solomon when he took his eyes off from the Lord and started taking pride in his own accomplishments. Wait a minute, I am getting ahead of myself. Before turning down that road I want to share another huge blessing from the “Glory Days.”
The summer before my freshman year (9th grade) I went to my first band camp. At the camp we had counselors who were music majors at Michigan State University (MSU). Their stories of a musician’s life at MSU thrilled my heart. From that point forward I was determined to go to MSU as a music major when I graduated from High School. That burning desire was a very large part of what motivated me to stay in the practice room going over my scales and arpeggios when all of my friends were out having fun.
During my senior year I applied and was accepted into the Michigan State University Music Program. I had even received my official packet for the upcoming preseason MSU Band Camp. Before being accepted, in order to hedge my bets, I also applied for a few other “distant second” choices for college. Among them was Eastern Michigan University (EMU). Then it happened. I received an invitation to audition for a music scholarship at EMU. With the cost of college, even though I was accepted at MSU and had no desire to go to EMU, I decided to audition. Low and behold, I won the scholarship and was headed toward my “distant second” choice school with most of the costs covered by a President’s Award Scholarship in music.
When I graduated from Napoleon High School I had a 3.83 grade point average. Had it not been for a senior year in which I took my eye off the ball, my overall GPA would have been much closer to a 4.0. In order to keep my scholarship at EMU for the full 4 years all I had to do was maintain a 3.5 GPA. Piece of cake!
I will soon share what happens when, like Solomon, eyes shift in the wrong direction. For now I simply want to encourage whoever is reading this to know that there is no limit to what can be accomplished through hard work and dedication coupled with the Lord’s blessing. We truly can live from Glory to Glory and Victory to Victory as long as we are willing to partner with the Lord from Battle to Battle.