Sunday, January 9, 2011

Humility

I think this is something every one of us needs to work on.  I have heard it once said that if you think you have humility, you don't.  Everyone gwho knows me knows I am sooooo not humble.  Audrey on the other hand was.   As iconic as she was she still did not think of herself as fabulous.  Maybe that was due to her childhood.

She was born in Belgium on May 4, 1929.  Her mother, Ella, was not an affectionate mother.  When she was 5 she was shipped off to a boarding school in England.  She did not like communal living. Her father left the family, never to return, when she was six.  She was terribly heartbroken and some of that hurt stayed with her throughout her life.  She started dancing lessons and that helped her to come out of her shell a bit.

When she was 10 Britain declared war on Germany.  She was shipped back to be with her mother.   The Nazi's began rationing everything people had.  Audrey's mother hid their valuables and moved to a small house in the country.  Audrey began taking secret coded messages by bicycle.  Then they had to go into hiding.  Her life parallels that of Anne Frank.  She suffered from malnutrition and was so frail she could no longer pursue her passion of dance.

One day, after delivering a message, she was stopped by a German officer and questioned.  He got distracted and she ran away.  She ran down an alleyway and found a damp, cold cellar that had a little hole for air and hid in there.  She just had a crust of hard bread and a bottle of apple juice with her.  She collapsed and woke up not knowing how long she had been asleep.  She rationed her bread and juice.  She was frozen to the spot.  She lost all sense of time.  When she had eaten her last morsel of bread she knew she needed to get out.  She was able to make it back to her mother.  It had been nearly a month since she found the cellar.

She suffered Anemia, jaundice, oedema, and swelling of the limbs.  She still had traces of these illnesses throughout her life. Malnutrition permanently damaged her metabolism.  She had a constant ache from the cellar and she had nightmares the rest of her life.

She felt like she was blessed with her career.  She felt like she was lucky.  She did not think she got to where she did through talent of her own.  When given a compliment she graciously said, "Thank you."  I think that is an amazing attribute to apply to our own lives.  I'm not saying we should think badly of ourselves.  I am saying we should focus on the talents God has given us.  Everything we have is because of God.  Never attribute our success or good attributes because of our own doing.  God gives us everything. When given a compliment, graciously say thank you and send that compliment right back to Him who deserves it and that is our Heavenly Father.


 “I never think of myself as an icon. What is in other people's minds is not in my mind. I just do my thing.”

“I probably hold the distinction of being one movie star who, by all laws of logic, should never have made it. At each stage of my career, I lacked the experience.”

"I never thought I'd land in pictures with a face like mine.”  Audrey Hepburn



5 comments:

Courtney said...

I didn't know any of this. Very fascinating.

Michelle H said...

I am awarding you with Most Stylish Blog Award - to claim it visit my blog for instructions. Congrats-you've got awesome ideas!

Dee Dee Cox said...

I love you for doing this very fun blog. I love Audrey Hepburn. She is class.

Stinsonian said...

That is all news to me! This is so fun to read. What an amazing woman!!

Alycia Grayce (Crowley Party) said...

Love all of this! I love Audrey.

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