Has spring arrived yet? As I began writing earlier this week, patches of snow still dotted our yard, holding on to the last vestiges of winter. Nevertheless, the songbirds are returning to Indiana, heralding in the new season. Fat robins and redwing blackbirds are but a few of the newcomers. On my way home recently, I sat at a stoplight gazing in wonder at a flock of birds as they moved in an undulating pattern across the highway. Like a giant wave, literally hundreds of sparrows wove an intricate dance in the sky above me. Their instinctive ability to move effortlessly in formation fascinates me. How the individual birds remain in synchrony without crashing into each other is a mystery.
If we have eyes to see, nature teaches us invaluable lessons. Like a flock of birds or a school of fish, there is power and beauty when we gather together for the common good. Unfortunately, however, we live in an era of the “selfie.” The press for individuality has become all consuming. More and more, we are preoccupied with ‘me’ instead of ‘we’. Instead of learning to work together for a higher purpose, we strive at all cost, to stand above the crowd…alone.
At times, a unique person steps forward who inspires others to let go of self-interest for a greater cause. Through their sheer energy and passion, they spur people on to work together in synchrony. One such leader is my good friend, Dr. Chuck Dietzen. In the late 90’s, he established a non-profit called the Timmy Foundation in honor of his brother who died as a newborn. The purpose of this organization was to provide medical care for vulnerable children around the world.
In the early 2000’s, the Timmy Foundation boasted only one employed staff member and a handful of volunteers. However, over the subsequent years, it has grown exponentially, leading to a name change to better reflect the group’s mission: Timmy Global Health. Since its inception, Dr. Chuck has motivated hundreds of volunteers, many of them premed and medical students to minister to “the least of these”, here in the US as well as locations in Central and South America.
As Dr. Chuck says, “We weren’t all born to be doctors and nurses but we were all are born to be healers.” One man’s passion inspired many to join together, improving the health of children and their families around the world. Some volunteers are in the medical field but many are simply people with a heart to help. Everyone contributes to the healing process.
So where do you fit in with your passion? Some such as Dr. Chuck are visionaries created with the unique ability to inspire and motivate. But their leadership would be meaningless without people to surround them like the birds flowing in unified waves through the sky. Never underestimate the power and beauty achieved when individuals move in selfless harmony together. Alone we effect very little, but in synchrony with others, we can truly change the world.
