Let's just go ahead and be what we were made to be, without
enviously or pridefully comparing ourselves with each other, or trying to be
something we aren't. If you preach, just preach God's Message, nothing else; if
you help, just help, don't take over; if you teach, stick to your teaching;
if you give encouraging guidance, be careful that you don't
get bossy; if you're put in charge, don't manipulate; if you're called to give
aid to people in distress, keep your eyes open and be quick to respond; if you
work with the disadvantaged, don't let yourself get irritated with them or
depressed by them. Keep a smile on your face. Love from the center of who you
are; don't fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good.
Romans 12:6-9 The
Message
BE WHAT YOU WERE MADE TO BE
Growing up as the middle child of
Italian immigrants, Tony Lepore learned that he could get attention by dancing,
singing, and making people laugh. He was
the ultimate class clown, destined to become a performer. Yet, when he returned from a tour of duty in Viet Nam, he married, and needed a job
immediately. The police department in his home town of Providence, Rhode Island was hiring. Sometimes, life gets in the way of our
dreams, though not necessarily in the way of the fullness of God’s intentions
for us.
I always admire people who,
despite leaving an old dream behind, bloom wherever they are planted and
ultimately become a vibrant and extraordinary flower in the garden. Tony Lepore is one of these exotic flowers.
During nine distinguished years
of night duty, Tony received many citations for outstanding arrests and two
metals of valor. Switching to days, he spent a couple years walking the beat
and directing traffic. And then one day in 1984, Tony stepped into the intersection to calm the
sea of beeping cars in a way that earned him worldwide media attention. Who can
forget his whistling, leaps, twists, and spins? Tony was made to be the Providence Dancing Cop. Since his retirement in 1988, he returns
every Christmas season for a two-week engagement to entertain downtown holiday
shoppers at the intersection he made famous.
On Sunday, the Providence Dancing Cop was in his hometown’s St.
Patrick’s Day parade. Today, he is doing two elementary school Safety Programs,
intertwined with a “Follow Your Dream” message.
He helps raise funds for the Alzheimer’s Association and several other
charities. My research on Tony Lepore
didn’t turn up any references to his religious beliefs, other than attending
Catholic school as a child. Yet, his
life speaks to me as clearly as St. Paul, “Let's just go ahead and be what
we were 
made
to be.”
Lord of Mercy,
Thank you for blessing me so
uniquely and making me different from everyone else on the planet. Thank you for planting me with your purpose
in this exact spot in your garden. Help
me this and every morning to focus on WHO
I’M BEING, not just WHAT I’M DOING
at work or school or home. Help me to
use the often overlooked gifts you have blessed me with, so that like Tony
Lepore, I may be the unique blessing in the world that you intended me to
be. Amen.
Linda Magill
lindabythesea@yahoo.com