Imagine not speaking for the first three years of your life. That’s exactly what this little boy nicknamed the “dopey one” had done. Born in Germany, this young man was slow in learning how to talk. That, combined with his tendency to whisper words softly to himself before saying them aloud, led the family maid to nickname him “der depperte” or the “dopey one.”
Throughout elementary school, many of his teachers thought he was lazy and wouldn’t make anything of himself. He always received good marks, but his head was in the clouds, conjuring up abstract questions people couldn’t understand. When he applied to attend a prestigious polytechnic school in Zurich, he failed the entrance exam.
Sometimes the most gifted and talented people have stories of how they struggled early in life. Bill Gate’s first business failed when the computer he had developed to process data wouldn’t work. Novelist Stephen King’s first book was rejected 30 times before finding someone who would publish his novel, Carrie. And yes, even Albert Einstein struggled. He was the little boy who wouldn’t talk for the first three years of his life and who was nicknamed the “dopey one”. Imagine… the man considered one of the greatest scientific minds of the 20th century being called the dopey one.
Einstein was finally able to gain entrance to the Polytechnic Institute in Zurich and eventually would develop the theory of relativity, which suggested that space and time are not absolutes. It was this theory that opened the door for the development of atomic power and the creation of the atom bomb.
Einstein lived an amazing life and overcame many obstacles to reach his full potential. I believe that God wants us to let go of the negativity in our lives that sometimes holds us back. Like Einstein, we should focus on what we can do and use our gifts to the best of our abilities. Einstein persevered because he refused to fail. We’ll probably never be as smart as Albert Einstein. But you don’t have to develop the theory of relativity to be a success in this life. Ask God in this Lenten season to help you find your special gifts… to live the life that God has called you to. You might be surprised what you can do.
Rev. Dave Poteet, Pastor of Congregational Care
