Breathe Out - The Art of Investing in Others
Originally published February 2014
I’ve been thinking a lot about how I invest my life....who I am “breathing” into.
This past week, one of the men I respect and admire most passed away. Dr. DwightGustafsonwas the dean of The School of Fine Arts at Bob Jones University for many,many years. He was amentor, teacher, conductor, singer, actor, artist, and so much more. His funeral is this morning and I woke up thinking about his life, his family,his ministry andhis influence. What an amazing and talented man!However, moreimportantly and more inspirational to me than his talent, was the way he invested into the lives of countless students over the course of his long ministry. I am just one of those many.
Breathe in.....Breathe Out!
What an impact Dr. “Gus” and his wife had on my life both while I was a student at BJU and even after graduation. I will never forget what he said to me when he came through the reception line after my senior recital. I’ll never forget the talk John and I had with him shortly after we were married. I’ll never forget how he encouraged me to pursue my vision for Artios Academies. Words are a powerful thing...a life well lived is a powerful thing...and Dr. Gus is an example of both of these types of influences in my life. Not only did he breathe in....he also breathed out....into the lives of others.
Real mentors are hard to find these days....the kind that take the time to invest in the lives of others by literally exhaling wisdom, experience, insight and inspiration. We need more mentors that are living examples, “living textbooks”, of a life well-lived. I wonder why they are so few and far between. Perhaps it is because investing in the lives of others takes time...A LOT of time. Perhaps it is because mentorship requires transparency. Perhaps it is because the results of investing aren’t always immediately seen. Perhaps, it is because investing in the lives of others means risking being hurt, misunderstood and sometimes disillusioned.
Nevertheless, investing in the lives of others is what we are called to do. It is what I am called to do. I am called to breathe in...so that I can breathe out. As I have been reading and remembering about the life of Dr.Gustafson, I began to see an even broader picture of his life’s work and legacy. It was so much more than composing beautiful music, directing world class operas, and conducting orchestras. It was about investing in the life of everyone who crossed his path.
What is your life’s work? What is your legacy? What is mine? My whole life I’ve known that I was called to make a difference...so are you! What better way to make a difference...than to invest in the lives of others...the life of myhusband, the lives of my children, the lives of my grandchildren, the lives of my friends, the lives of my students in Artios Academies...the lives of my faculty and staff...the lives of other mothers and families. Investing takes time, thought, praying, pondering, planning and then living it out with intention and focus. We can’t just coast through life and expect to make a difference. We can’t just go through the motions. We are investing in the lives of individuals, individuals who were made in God’s image...individuals who will then go on to invest and breathe into the lives of others.
Who can you “breathe” into today?
