Stretching for humility—on the very top shelf

KIM SHIPPEY, SENIOR WRITER

As a rookie radio announcer at a noncommercial station, I landed the least desirable shifts. I often opened the station at 5.00 a.m. with bird calls and "suitable music," and regularly closed the transmission with "suitable music" (including the national anthem)—with a zillion menial tasks in between.

I would never have survived or been promoted to prime time had it not been for the station's record librarian, Charles—the shyest, gentlest person I've ever worked with. He had soft brown eyes and a laugh that tinkled like the brooks that crossed his beloved Yorkshire moors, where, I believe, he was born. He didn't talk much about himself. His life purpose, I gradually realized, was to serve God—and his fellow broadcasters—as promptly, humbly, and efficiently as he could, day or night.

I only had to hint at my needs for a show, and without saying a word, Charles would climb to the top of the library ladder, stretch for a record sleeve, and carefully clamber back down, cradling the vinyl disk as though it were a two-week-old baby. As he descended, he would evaluate the performance, suggest what I might learn from such artistry, and then say quietly, "And what else can I do for you today?"

Charles knew every disk in his library. In fact, he seemed to know something about everything—except self-importance. Sometimes he even asked me, a 20-something straight out of college, what I thought about a new release or how I liked the balance in the lunch-hour concert he was compiling.

You must surely at some time have met people just like Charles?—listened to them, learned from them, and felt worthier as a human being because of your exposure to their . . . humility.

That's the quality we're opening up to this week, giving special attention to the rich resources of the Bible and Mary Baker Eddy's Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. We hope you find our efforts worthy—and helpful.

WHAT I SAY UNTO YOU I SAY UNTO ALL, WATCH.—JESUS

The Christian Science Sentinel was founded in 1898 by Mary Baker Eddy, and its mission remains the same: "to hold guard over Truth, Life, and Love." The Sentinel continues to report on the unlimited ways that the healing power and presence of the Christ activates, uplifts, and transforms the lives of everyday people around the world.

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April 9, 2007

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