This morning, I played "The Fool" by Lee Ann Womack on my radio show on KSTA. Lee Ann Womack is from my hometown of Jacksonville, Tex. Her father was a radio personality for KEBE in Jacksonville, owned by Dudley Waller, whose company would never hire me... but that's a completely separate issue from this post.
While the song played, I began to think about my alma mater, Jacksonville High School.
Over the past 25 years, Jacksonville High School has produced two successful major-label country music singers (Lee Ann Womack and Neal McCoy), three NFL players (Former Dallas Cowboys' punter Toby Gowin, current Tampa Bay back-up quarterback Luke McCown and current Miami back-up quarterback Josh McCown), several other pro football players who played in leagues like the Arena Football League, numerous Division I college football stand-outs (Randy McCown, former Texas A&M quarterback and Richard Whitaker, former Texas A&M runningback), and that's just the high profile success stories.
We have Jacksonville alumni working with the outreach division of the Republican Party. Some have launched successful businesses, while others serve God in the ministry.
Most towns have that one football star that made it. (Rusk has Dr. Jim Swink). Other towns might have that local resident who rose to fame (Coleman has Ronnie Dunn of Brooks and Dunn, Lindale has Miranda Lambert, Henderson has Jim Reeves). It is not that common for a town to have as many success stories as Jacksonville.
So, what's with the success stories? Is it something in the water? Having drank Jacksonville water, I can gaurantee you, NO!. Is it the fabulous school system? No. Jacksonville schools have struggled with accreditation ratings and are having to rely too heavily on portable buildings to accomodate its students. That being said, I want to emphasize that when I was in school, we had some of the best teachers in public education.
No, the difference is in the parenting. Lee Ann Womack's mother was a teacher at Jacksonville High School. Her father took her to work with him. They set her up for success.
The McCown brothers' (Luke, Josh and Randy) father taught them to be successful quarterbacks. He taught them a solid work ethic and a strong sense of respect. One of the brothers has even made it public that he is surrendering to the ministry. At the present time, he says he plans on using his football career for God's honor and glory, but after football is over, he plans to serve the Lord in the ministry. The other two McCown brothers are class acts as well.
Toby Gowin's mother taught biology at Jacksonville High School. Her biology class was hard enough, as her philosophy was to set very high standards and empower her students to rise to the occasion. No challenge meant no growth. She forbad her sons from owning home video games like the PS3 (Or SuperNintendo back in that day), though they were allowed to play if they were at a friends house. They were required to change their own oil in their cars, etc. One time, one of her sons made a failing grade in college, and we thought were were going to have to plan a funeral.
The point is that these parents strongly disciplined their children, witheld things that would be detrimental to their kids, and trained and groomed their kids for success. Some of these parents, if not all, even brought their kids up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
These parents did not view their child's success as a game of chance, neither did they buy into the idea that we were just lowly country people capable of little else than continuing the life-cycle of our small town. They grabbed the proverbial bull by the horns and reared (not raised) their children. (For a difference between rear and raise, email me). The results are in the pudding.
These kids did not grow up perfect, but they had the opportunity to maximize their potential. Without loving parents to discipline kids, remove destructive influences and conditions, and to train them up in the way they should go, the natural progression is for further rebellion, mistakes, and lifestyle decline. The natural result is failure, both secular and spiritual.
Young parent, your child's future is not up to chance, neither is it limited by your area's socio-economic deficiencies. Your child's future is dependent on your willingness to make the tough choices, take the tough stands, put forth the effort and sacrifice to groom them for success (spiritual and secular) and their desire to follow your parenting. It'll be the toughest thing you ever do, but you can do it, especially if you are living with Jesus as your Savior.
1 comment:
Pastor, I happened upon your blog and love it. My mother grew up in Jacksonville in the 1930's. Her father had a little sandwich stand which exploded. This was the year before the New London school explosion which killed so many little children. After that fire, scent was added to natural gas, but my grandfather never knew his place was going to go up in flames. He died a short time later.
I always knew Jacksonville, Rusk and Palestine as wonderful little East Texas towns. My mother had quite about of pride in her little hometown and other family members lived in the other places nearby. They were the Sloan family.
Thank you for posting such an encouraging letter about parenthood and persistence. May you continue to encourage others. God bless you.
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