Scout Spirit

In scouting we refer to someone who lives up to the scout oath and law as having scout spirit.

On Tuesday, I attended the funeral for the wife of my friend Jim. Jim’s wife Sarah lost a long battle with cancer, and is now with our Lord. All of these events got me thinking about Jim and how good an example of scout spirit he is. Due to the situation at home, Jim was not as involved in the troop as he wanted to be, so many of the boys may not have seen this in him, but I’m sure I’m not the only one to notice.

Let me share some thoughts about Jim’s scout spirit:

The scout oath has three parts:
Duty to God
Duty to Others
Duty to Self

Jim has balanced all of these sometimes conflicting duties. He is the prime example of a devoted husband and father. He balanced caring for Sarah, the kids, and still managed to take care of himself enough to make it through. Even through it all he was a key contributor to our troop.

The scout law has twelve points:

Trustworthy – God considers him trustworthy; He entrusted Jim to care for His child Sarah, in her time of need.
Loyal – Loyal to the vows he made to Sarah to be there for her in sickness and in health
Helpful – I’m sure that Sarah would say that he was helpful to her. I know that he has been helpful to me, with sage advice when needed.
Friendly – One of the friendliest men that I know. Even in the midst of his trials, he always asks “how are you doing”, and listens like he means it.
Courteous – Jim is always courteous.
Kind – I don’t think I need to say anything here, but I will. Even on the day of Sarah’s funeral, he took the time to encourage my son who had lost the troop SPL election the night before.
Obedient – Obedient to God in caring for the people that God sent into his life.
Cheerful – In the midst of it all, he always has a smile on his face. Even when things were tough, you had to ask him to know how bad things really were.
Thrifty – I don’t know of an example of this, but I’m sure that he is.
Brave - Many men run from this trial that he faced head on.
Clean – OK, so he’s not perfect… Just kidding. Jim is clean; not just clean physically, but more importantly clean in character. He serves as an example that the boys can follow.
Reverent – Jim is one of the most reverent scouters I know. He knows the impact that ceremonies can have. He always gets choked up when he gives the Eagle charge to a new Eagle Scout. He tears up when we sing scout vespers at the close of a campfire.

By the way, Jim is an Eagle Scout, but more importantly he lives up to the title. If all Eagles followed the example of Jim, this world would be a better place.

Thank you Jim.