Dream Boosters

As I turned on my computer, I noticed on the calendar that Randy Becton and I are having lunch today. I love being with my dear friend and brother in Christ, Randy. Every time I meet with him I get so inspired to be more like Jesus. He has such a singular focus on Jesus Christ. Flowing forth from that passion for Christ comes Randy's deep concern for people.

Randy does the most unusual things in the way he loves people. This past weekend provided one more example. When our family returned from a family reunion Monday night, we heard a message from Randy on our answering machine. He told our daughter, Shannon, that he left a surprise for her on our front porch. Knowing that Shannon is training to be a nurse, Randy bought her a Nurse's Handbook -- a book that did not look inexpensive. Shannon immediately called Randy and thanked him.

Randy once told me that all of us need a dream booster. Someone that will cast a vision for our lives, that sees inherent talent in us and call it forth. When I worked with him at Herald of Truth, he would continually urge me to write. And when I mentioned that I wanted to write a book, Randy was one of my greatest encouragers in this endeavor.

His life reminded me of an article I wrote last year after reading a man's obituary in Time Magazine. His name was Maurice Hilleman, a “low-profile microbiologist credited with developing some 40 vaccines – a record – and saving more lives than any other 20th Century scientist.”1 This low-key genius worked for thirty years at the pharmaceutical giant Merck and Co. During his tenure at this company he developed more than half of the 14 vaccines that are used to protect children from getting the mumps, measles, hepatitis A and B, and chickenpox.
I read that he was 85 when he died. That makes me realize that when I was a young child in the 1960’s, my siblings and I were likely recipients of some of these vaccinations that this scientist developed. Years later, after our children were born, they received the standard shots from serum that this amazing man helped develop. I owe a great deal to this remarkable inventor – as do millions of others in the United States and throughout the world.
However, there is another hero mentioned in this story – his older brother. For you see, as a young man this Montana farm boy worked as a clerk at a local J.C. Penney. Perhaps Maurice thought there was nowhere else for him to work. Maybe he had little vision for his life. Fortunately, his brother had such a vision. He encouraged Maurice to dream bigger – to aim higher than his job as a clerk by going to college. Mr. Hilleman took to heart his brother’s advice and eventually earned a Ph.D. in microbiology from the University of Chicago. During his studies, Maurice began to discover his amazing gift in scientific research. Within a year of taking a job with Merck and Co., he had developed a vaccine to protect American troops in the Pacific from Japanese encephalitis, an often fatal infection of the brain.2 Throughout his brilliant career he published over 500 original articles in the fields of virology, immunology, epidemiology and infectious diseases.3 In 1988, Hilleman received the National Medal of Science, the United States' highest scientific honor.4
I’m thinking of all the other Maurice Hillemans in the world. Those who had amazing latent talent, waiting to burst forth and be used to make a profound difference in this world. What if Michelangelo never took up sculpture, no one encouraged Beethoven to study music, or Helen Keller never had Ann Sullivan to patiently teach her how to speak?
I’d like for you to think of the Maurice Hilleman in your life. Could by your son or daughter. A grandchild. Even a co-worker. They need a dream booster who can recognize their God-given skills and talents and to give them a nudge to push into that potential and then watch them blossom. I’m convinced that so many of us, especially when we’re young, have a hard time seeing our potential. And therefore we need a mentor, a dream-booster who will come along side us to say, “I see some talent in you in this area…”

I thank God for how he has blessed me with a dream-booster like Randy Becton. I pray that the Lord will give you such a dream booster. And that He will give us the sensitivity and insight to be dreamer of dreams towards those closest to us -- to help them reach for their highest potential in life. To the glory of God.

Jim

1 Time Magazine, April 25, 2005, p. 15
2 “The Man Who Saved Your Life - Maurice R. Hilleman - Developer of Vaccines for Mumps and Pandemic Flu” by Huntley Collins, Philadelphia Newspapers, Inc., 1999.
3 Merck Announces the Death of Dr. Maurice R. Hilleman.” www.merck.com
4 Ibid.