Soundness of Heart – September 01, 2002
Perhaps Queen Elizabeth the second’s most remarkable gift is her ability to understand the nature of men and women. In a 1954 broadcast the Queen inspired listeners by assuring them that “the upward course of a nation’s history is due in the long run to the soundness of heart of its average men and women.”
No single leader, no matter how influential, can do it all. While one person can make a difference, real change—the kind that lifts a nation—occurs when each effort is multiplied. In this country we look often to those on whom the light falls most frequently—perhaps more than we should. By moving the spotlight just a little, we find people like Jethro Mann of Belmont, North Carolina. The children in his neighborhood call him “The Bicycle Man,” because for years Jethro has maintained a collection of bicycles for children who can’t afford them. Any child can check out a bicycle, but they must return it by four o’clock that evening. If they don’t, they can’t use a bike the next day. That’s Jethro’s way of teaching responsibility.1
Jethro may seem alone in his effort, but he’s not. In another town a man in a wheelchair repairs bikes for free. Another man refurbishes used bikes and gives them to needy children. Apparently there are “bicycle men” everywhere, mending broken smiles with a little elbow grease.
These are not men of royal birth, but average people with sound hearts who have become something quite special to thousands of children. The world is full of these ordinary men and women who daily open their hearts to others in extraordinary ways. These are the ones who through small but meaningful efforts are changing the course of nations.
Program #3811
1. See Charles Kuralt, On the Road with Charles Kuralt (New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1985), 22–25.