We hear so much, day in and day out, really, about insufferable celebrities who take advantage of their talent to act like animals — poorly bred animals at that.
But every once in a while, we get a surprise and for most of us, Susan Boyle has been one of those surprises.
The middle-aged woman has had a popular following since she began to sing on “Britain’s Got Talent” and she was probably the first Internet super-celebrity, because it was through millions of viewings on the web that Brits and Americans both came to know her.
It was later that we really found out about her story, though, and learned that this working-class woman, who “was briefly deprived of oxygen during her difficult birth and was later diagnosed as having learning difficulties,” according to one of her biographies — she was mockingly called “Simple Suzie” in school — had overcome great odds to become a singing celebrity.
And then she began to let people know how much her faith in Christ had been in her life — before and after her celebrity — and the miracle of her overcoming incredible challenges to succeed began to make even more sense.
This past week, Boyle, who once sang in one of her songs, “I am who I was born to be,” got to add to who that is, by realizing one of her life-long dreams.
Boyle, backed by an 800-member choir, got to perform for Pope Benedict in Glasgow, Scotland, during his four-day visit to Britain.
She sang “I Dreamed a Dream” from “Les Miserables” and later admitted to the press that this really was the realization of a life-long dream.
There are lots of lessons, it would seem.
Become who you were born to be. Don’t stop dreaming. And, faith is crucial to overcoming the odds life throws at you.
That’s a good start, at least.
Way to go, Susan Boyle!
— Chuck Smith