Matthew, 13: 31-32--

 

31 He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. 32 It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”

 

Good morning.

I want to again wish you all a Happy New Year and to tell you how great it has been to be back on campus with all of you.

 

I know that January and February can be challenging months in schools even without a pandemic, and I’m sorry that the recent increase in COVID cases has caused us to intensify our restrictions.

 

However, I’m glad that we are able to get back to competitive athletics this week, and I’m excited for plans for fairly normal Winter One Acts and other terrific arts performances later this winter.

Seniors, I want to thank you for your continued leadership, positivity, and flexibility. I am confident that we will finish this school year just as we began it—with enthusiasm, excellence in multiple forms, and with far fewer restrictions than we are facing right now. Hang in there with us, and things will improve in the weeks ahead. They will.

 

Undoubtedly, one of the most frustrating elements of COVID these past two years has been our near-complete lack of control over the path and impact of the virus. As teachers and school leaders, we like to be in control and to map out plans for the coming days and weeks. The unpredictability of COVID renders that level of control and forecasting nearly impossible.

 

To our juniors and seniors, I can remember being your age and yearning for more control in my life, more autonomy and freedom. I can only imagine how frustrating the past two years have been for you, when you’re just trying to have a normal high-school experience, while COVID, your parents, and St. Christopher’s all impose restrictions and boundaries on you. I think you guys have handled that frustration well, better than I probably would have, if I’m being honest.

 

I’ve been thinking a lot recently about COVID and being a teenager, what the virus can and cannot control, and how the St. Christopher’s community can make the most of what will likely be a challenging winter to come.  

 

Let’s take a moment and watch this brief video clip from former Navy Seal Admiral William McRaven, delivered at the University of Texas Commencement in May 2014. [Play video]

 

[Show picture of Wooden and Lew Alcindor]

 

Some of you may be aware of the legendary practice of the late John Wooden, shown here with Lew Alcindor, later Kareem Abul Jabbar. As basketball coach of the UCLA Bruins, Wooden won a record 10 national championships, including seven in a row from 1967 through 1973. Coach Wooden, before he would even let a basketball touch the court, before any drills or actual basketball practice, would teach his players how to properly put on their socks and shoes. That’s right, their socks and shoes. Here is an explanation of that practice, in his own words.

 

“I think it's the little things that really count. The first thing I would show our players at our first meeting was how to take a little extra time putting on their shoes and socks properly. The most important part of your equipment is your shoes and socks. You play on a hard floor. So you must have shoes that fit right. And you must not permit your socks to have wrinkles around the little toe--where you generally get blisters--or around the heels. It took just a few minutes, but I did show my players how I wanted them to do it. Hold up the sock, work it around the little toe area and the heel area so that there are no wrinkles. Smooth it out good.

 

Then hold the sock up while you put the shoe on. And the shoe must be spread apart--not just pulled on the top laces. You tighten it up snugly by each eyelet. Then you tie it. And then you double-tie it so it won't come undone--because I don't want shoes coming untied during practice, or during the game. I don't want that to happen. I'm sure that once I started teaching that many years ago, it did cut down on blisters. It definitely helped. But that's just a little detail that coaches must take advantage of, because it's the little details that make the big things come about.”

 

[Remove photo—dark or blank screen]

 

“It's the little details that make the big things come about.” Ponder that thought for just a moment.

  

Little things, as it turns out, aren’t so little, especially when they are repeated and multiplied, day after day, year after year. They form habits, which in turn form character, which, as we know at St. Christopher’s, is the most important thing we possess.

 

I want to share with you all that I never dreamed or thought I would grow up to be the headmaster of one of the finest boy’s schools in the world. I was a regular guy when I was your age—I enjoyed writing, sports, the outdoors, and hanging out with friends. Any success I have achieved in my life has come from paying attention to details, the little things, and outworking any challenge that I faced.

 

In my office, next to my desk, there is a picture frame with a quote from our School founder, Dr. Chamberlayne, that says, “If we do faithfully, day by day, the small things, the time will come when greater things will be entrusted to our care.”

Here are a few of those small things that you and I can control, every day, even in COVID, and therefore influence not just our own day but the days of others all around us.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Each of those five things I mentioned—cleaning up after yourself, being punctual, smiling, making eye contact, saying thank you—may seem small, but they are immensely impactful, and they don’t cost you a thing but a small amount of effort and intention.

 

[Show image of locker room]

Take a look at this image. It’s a locker room after, not before, a World Cup soccer match. It was the Japanese team locker room from the 2018 World Cup, held in Russia. In addition to leaving the locker room cleaner than they found it, the team left a note, in Russian which says, simply “Thank you.”

 

One of my favorite phrases from “A Boy’s Prayer” is the one that asks for “chances to a do a little good every day and so grow more like Christ.” Note that the request is not for grand or singular opportunities to shine but rather, simply, “chances to do a little good.”

 

I know these past two years have been frustrating and that at times we have all felt powerless. I’d like to challenge you to turn that thought around and instead focus on what you can control, the things COVID cannot take away. Each day, commit to two or three little things within your control, chances to do a little good, and watch your influence grow on the world around you.

[Show A Boy’s Prayer]

 

 Will you please rise and join me in offering “A Boy’s Prayer”?