Little Victories Need Applause Too

Prologue: “Emo” – emotion as used here is not in the current juvenile vernacular where someone is so emotional that it affects their life in negative ways. It is hilarious to me that the age of individual who are the most driven, plagued, and hindered by emotions are the very ones who list being emotional as a bad thing.

Q: How many non-emotional teens does it take to change a light bulb?
A: No one knows. There is no such thing as a non-emotional teen.

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I am a man who thrives on passion. When I am at my very best is when I am driven by a passion for particular event or philosophy or idea or ministry. When I am at my absolute worst is when I am void of that passion and that ability to dream. And everyone knows that to be passionate is to be emotional about something. This does not necessarily mean in a bad sense, but in the best sense.

The very essence of motivation is emotion. How many underdogged, out manned, over achieving athletic teams have won games against a superior opponent by sheer emotion. Ever watched Hoosiers or The Replacements? And it is not only on the movie screen where that is a reality. The late George Allen and Dick Vermeil made careers out of keeping players playing above their ability by motivation.

Read the passage where Jesus weeps over Jerusalem. Read where he overturns the table of the money changers. Listen to him talk about the harvest being plentiful, but the laborers few. Do you hear any emotion? If not, read it again, this time with your eyes open.

All that being said in defense of well balanced emotions . . . I sometimes am a sap for those sorts of songs. (Notice I said sometimes. Sometimes they are just plain cheesy too.) The other week at my faith community, I played a song by a 1980-1990 vintage singer songwriter named Wayne Watson. It got me to listening to some of his other stuff. He had some really good things to say in his day that are still applicable.

I was listening to Watercolour Ponies while watching my grandson Gavin playing and the phrase “And little victories can go by with no applause.” It is in reference to children growing up and our support of them often lacking by our busyness.

I watched Gavin, at a month shy of four years old scream down our drive in his bike and ease on his brakes. This was a big deal for him to learn to ease on the brakes not slam on them as he had. It was a little victory. I walked over to him and clapped.

When was the last time you clapped for someone’s little victory? It does not have to be a child. It can be an adult. When was the last time you clapped for someone’s little victory?

Yeah. That is what I thought.