Leave your worries with God because He cares for you." ~ 1 Peter 5:7
Bald, thickly built and one who
never forgot his humble beginnings, Sam Rayburn learned responsibility early. Growing up on a small cotton farm, he and each
of his 10 siblings had to contribute to make their farm a success. Spending long days beneath the blistering
Texas sun, he dreamed of eventually holding public office.
While other boys pondered sports and girls, Sam Rayburn’s
imagination flirted with speech making and helping others. The confident teenager audaciously once declared
that he’d study law, enter politics, and one day serve in the United States
Congress.
He went on to spend 49 years in the House of
Representatives, including a record 17 years as House Speaker. Yet to Sam, “It’s not the length of service
that matters, unless that duty has been of high integrity and rendered fully on
behalf of one’s nation.”
Known affectionately as "Mr. Sam," Rayburn helped deliver
some of the 20th Century's most vital legislation, working, as he
put it, "with, not under," eight Presidents. Third in line for succession to the
presidency, he wielded incredible power and prestige.
Like most national politicians, he occasionally considered
running for President, but never made a serious bid for the White House. A humble man who enjoyed many of life’s
simpler pleasures, Rayburn was content to remain Speaker.
One day, he learned that a close friend’s teenage daughter
had died tragically. Early the next morning, Rayburn knocked on his friend’s door, asking if he could help in any
way.
His grieving friend sighed, “Thank
you Sam, but I don’t think so. We’re making
all the arrangements now.” To which
Rayburn asked, “Have you had coffee this morning?”
“No. We haven’t had
time,” the heartbroken man replied.
“Well,” Rayburn responded, “I can at least do that.”
As he watched his powerful friend make coffee, the father
suddenly recalled: “Mr. Speaker, weren’t you were supposed have breakfast at
the White House this morning.”
“Well, yeah, but I called the President and explained the
situation; that I couldn’t come today.” He’d
just turned down breakfast with the President to make coffee for a distraught
friend.
It’s been said that “Powerful people rarely lack confidence
but, they often lack humility.” Sam
Rayburn may have been an exception because he trusted God’s more powerful hand.
Free from the arrogance of thinking we can do it all by
ourselves brings us to a place of peace; grounded and established in Him. Paradoxically, it has little to do with even thinking
about being humble or focusing on ourselves at all.
