Miracle of the Call: Twentieth Century Heroes and Heroines

By Donna A. Ford

Seventeen Life StoriesTwentieth Century Heroes and Heroines

You may know the amazing life stories of these heroes and heroines of the twentieth century. Now read the surprising miracle of the call each experienced.

To Recognize the Call

Will you hear a voice? Some have. Do you see a vision? Moses saw the burning bush. Does your spirit feel stirred? Or do you feel a tug on your heart? Find out how to tell whether you have received the miracle of the call.

To Inspire Great Achievement

Individuals in this book might disagree about what constituted the call on their lives. All seventeen acknowledged that something unusual happened, something beyond themselves. Achievement that betters humanity points to the miracle of the call.

Ford inspires by saying that we too can be called just by listening to the music inside us. If a writer is a skilled servant of words who enables the rest of the world to share others greatness, then Ford is an exceptional servant, wrapping great lives in an alluring package with this slim volume of seventeen biographies.

Miracle of the Call is recommended by the US Review of Books: Professional Book Reviews for the People.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Dec 29, 2015
• ISBN: 9781512723366

Donna A. Ford

Donna A. Ford has spent twenty-plus years in the corporate world as a technical writer. Miracle of the Call is her third published book. Her own miracle call is given in the book. Ford lives in New England and enjoys reading biographies and giving them to her nine grandchildren.

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Copyright © 2015 Donna A. Ford.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

Scripture taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide. Used by permission. NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION® and NIV® are registered trademarks of Biblica, Inc. Use of either trademark for the offering of goods or services requires the prior written consent of Biblica US, Inc.

WestBow Press

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

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ISBN: 978-1-5127-2337-3 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-2338-0 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-2336-6 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015920518

WestBow Press rev. date: 12/21/2015

Contents

Acknowledgements

Introduction

About the Stories

Why the Twentieth Century?

Chapter 1: Launching the Twentieth Century

Wright Brothers: call to solve the problem of flight

Chapter 2: Scientists

Marie Curie: call to discover elements

Albert Einstein: call to genius

Jonas Salk: call to good deeds

What the Call Is and Is Not

Chapter 3: Politicians

Ronald Reagan: call to break down barriers

John F. Kennedy: call to courage

Miracles Inspired by Love

Chapter 4: Positive Thinkers and Preachers

Norman Vincent Peale: call to practical Christianity

Billy Graham: call to evangelism

Robert Schuller: call to build for God

Has God Called?

Chapter 5: Reformers

Martin Luther King, Jr.: call to march

Nelson Mandela: call to father a nation

Chuck Colson: call to set prisoners free

Responding to the Call

Chapter 6: Mercy Ministries

Mother Teresa: call to serve the poor

Corrie ten Boom: call to provide a hiding place

Evidence of Miracles

Chapter 7: Military and Astronaut

Dwight Eisenhower (IKE): call to high command

Neil Armstrong: call to giant leap for mankind

A Call and a Walk

Chapter 8: Ending the Twentieth Century

Sarah Palin: call to patriotism

Major Prizes and Awards Received

Bibliography for Miracle of the Call

Photo Credits

Donna A. Ford, author: call to write

Where are the Women?

Where are the Athletes and Celebrities?

Other Books by the Author

Concord Sage – Sample Chapters

Chapter 1: Shots Fired

Chapter 2: Boston Boyhood

Acknowledgements

To faithful friends and family who have volunteered as proof readers and encouragers of this work.

Introduction

"The call of our calling is the loudest call." Ralph Waldo Emerson

What do miracles and biographies have in common? For one thing, many are fascinated by them like I am. Perhaps we know that we too are called to achieve greatness if we can only crack the code, see a vision, or acquire enough faith.

When reading a biography, we almost stand on tiptoe to see a miracle take place in the subject’s life; however, the biographer seldom calls it that. If no miracle occurred, then why was this person called to such greatness while we are not?

Sometimes we can glimpse what might be labeled a mini-miracle, as it begins in a person’s life story. Hardly the same as Jesus feeding five thousand, but enough of a miracle to generate a sense of awe. Like when a tiny flame circles the edges of a piece of kindling in a new camp fire, this small miracle grows into a brightness that warms us deeply.

Frankly, watching someone else’s miracle often makes us envious. Why her and not me? How come he succeeded and I haven’t? I consider this kind of envy as a special gift…an indicator that points toward what I am meant to achieve in my own life. Otherwise, why would I have such a strong response to the success of someone I don’t even know?

In such cases, we experience one of two typical responses. The first is to assume that we are called to pursue the exact same path. More likely this response should serve as advanced notice to prepare ourselves as we wait and to carefully listen for the specifics of our own call.

The second response when reading of someone else’s accomplishments is to question our abilities. We think, Well, I couldn’t have done that. At first this may seem to be a cop out. In fact, it is the first part of this true statement:

I could not have done that…unless I too was called…and gifted in that calling.

And so…I continue to read biographies, often several a month, and keep a look out for my next miracle. The difference now is that I know better what to look for or work towards. Do I want to publish books, like Ernest Hemingway or Stephen King? I can polish my writing skills, accept rejection notices, and keep learning while I wait. Actually, I’ve been doing that since 1977. Seem fruitless? The life of Grandma Moses demonstrates that not all miracles of the call come in youth.

About the Stories

The heroes and heroines whose stories you will read in this book were uniquely gifted for their futures in the twentieth century. This was initially hidden by an obstacle, a conflict, a wall someone built…or maybe themselves. At some point in their lives, each person stopped thinking about what they were not and focused on what he/she could be. That was the true moment of the call…the miracle.

Jesus spoke to his audience using parables (stories). Like logic, stories are equally powerful strategies for organizing our thoughts. More importantly, stories make sense of our emotional response to seemingly senseless things that have happened in our lives and the lives of others. For example, how could the fact that young Reagan picked up his drunken father ever assure this son of a call to accomplish great things? Yet the story of how a lead character in a novel handled this same humiliation gave courage to the youth who went on to become an American president.

I have selected two of these compelling stories, one to bring in the century and another as the last story to exit this century of great human advancement. The remaining stories are arranged by occupation and then by date.

No one could have made up their stories…about people so different and scattered around the world, yet with lives interwoven in this space of time.

Why the Twentieth Century?

Facebook has become a way for me to keep in touch with family. Since I daily read posts from those in their teens and twenties, I have noticed a trend. Youth prefer to take advice only from their peers. And yet so much of who we are is linked to our past.

I chose to write about twentieth century heroes and heroines, partly because they are my generation. Not surprising, right? But as Dave Meyer recently wrote, history cannot be foretold (except by God). It can only be recorded after time and events have unfolded. Likewise he urged that history must be recorded in the order that it happens. Only then will we be able to see the miracles.

Future books may address miracle calls of the twenty-first century. By then, the consequences and results upon humanity of such calls should become clear.

Chapter 1:

Launching the Twentieth Century

Two young men, inspired by the flight of birds, experimented until they accomplished what no one else had yet done. They followed in the footsteps of Leonardo da Vinci and on the shoulders of many inventors of the previous century. To these, they brought their unique mastery of balancing a bicycle and applied that to achieve powered flight. What better way to literally launch humanity into this exciting century?

MiraclesImage1.tif

Wright Brothers:

call to solve the problem of flight

"Isn’t it astonishing that all these secrets have been preserved for so many years just so we could discover them!" Orville Wright

The Call

The call to build and fly the first, fixed-wing powered aircraft came to the brothers in 1896 while Orville was recovering from typhoid fever and Wilbur was reading to him.

Out-of-the-blue, miraculous even? Maybe. But that was hardly their earliest call.

Call to Make a Difference

The families of Milton Wright and Susan Koerner had several things in common. Both families had moved to Ohio from the East. Milton’s family