Walking in the Valley A weekly column for those who live and walk in Silicon Valley by Barbara Dahlgren

Who Am I? Column for the week of February 16-22, 2003

last week | archives |

printer-friendly version

Biography magazine contains some interesting tidbits in the “Who Am I?” section. The March 2003 edition asks if you know who the following are:

“A noted silversmith in my native Boston, I designed tea sets, bowls, printing plates and even false teeth. I participated in the city’s Tea Party. My most famous mission was in April of 1775 when I took part in a midnight ride to warn citizens of the approaching British troops.”

Okay, I’ll admit that’s an easy one. Who is this?

“A driven, politically active student, I spoke at my graduation from Wellesley College, the first student to do so. In 1991 the National Law Journal named me one of the 100 most influential lawyers in America. In November 2000 I became the first, first lady elected to the U.S. Senate.”

All right, it’s another easy one. But did you ever wonder what a biographer would say about you? Try this one.

“I was born William Sydney Porter, September 11, 1962 in North Carolina. I worked as a journalist and turned to fiction while serving a 3-year prison term for embezzlement. Released in 1901, I moved to New York City and wrote weekly short stories for the New York World and several books. My stories were known for plot twists, surprise endings, and bittersweet irony. What is my pen name?”

If you guessed O’Henry, you’re right. O’Henry was upset when he read a column stating that there were only about 100 people worth knowing in New York City. He begged to differ and thought everyone was worth knowing so he wrote about the lives of ordinary people. If someone wrote a bio of our ordinary lives, what would they say? Are we worth knowing?

I think we are. Inside each person is a song waiting to be sung, a story waiting to be told. Everyday we touch hundreds of lives with what we say and do, how we say and do it. Maybe we won’t make the cover of Biography Magazine. Most of us wouldn’t want to give up that kind of privacy anyway. But we can enrich the lives of others by how we live our lives. God designed each of us as individually unique, special. (Luke 12:6-8) He thinks we’re worth knowing.

So who’s this?

“In the eyes of the world I was born illegitimately but I was really a child of God. Around the age of 12 I dumfounded religious leaders of my time with my spiritual insight and wisdom. Later, I revolutionized Biblical teachings. I was unjustly arrested and crucified between two thieves. I died so mankind could live. Who am I?”

Not only does God think we are worth knowing, He even thinks we’re worth dying for. (John 3:16) So who am I? Sometimes I’m not so sure, but fortunately God is and that’s good enough for me.

©February 2003

Be sure to visit this page every week to read the next edition of Walking in the Valley. You can write to the author at bdahlgren@wcgsouthbay.org.