He didn’t wear a beard. He grew one because he received a letter from an 11-year-old girl. For most of his life, he didn’t have that iconic beard we see on the five-dollar bill. He was clean-shaven and had a very thin, gaunt face. That changed because of a letter from an 11-year-old girl named Grace Bedell.
She wrote to him with a piece of blunt advice, telling him that his face was too thin and that “all the ladies like whiskers.” Instead of ignoring a child, Lincoln actually listened.
He grew the beard because a little girl told him it would make him look better. When his train later stopped in her hometown, he sought her out, showed her his new look, and said, “You see, I let these whiskers grow for you, Grace.”
This story tells us a lot about the man who would go on to save the United States. Abraham Lincoln was not a man of ego or pride. Even as he was running for the highest office in the land, he was willing to take advice from a child.
He knew that wisdom doesn’t always come from old men in suits. Sometimes it comes from a girl with a pen and an honest heart. This openness was a trait he carried with him throughout his entire career.
Before he was known as a politician or a lawyer, Lincoln was famous for something much more physical. He was a champion wrestler. In the rough-and-tumble frontier of Illinois, Lincoln was a giant among men. Standing at six feet four inches, he was a powerhouse.
Out of approximately 300 matches, he only lost one single time.
He was so skilled and respected for his sportsmanship that he was eventually inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. He used his strength to protect others and earn a reputation for being tough but fair.
This physical grit gave him the stamina he needed to survive the stress of the White House later on.
When he finally became President, Lincoln brought a very different kind of energy to Washington. He was the very first president to bring pet cats into the White House. He didn’t just keep them as mousers. He treated them like members of the family. He had two favorite cats named Tabby and Dixie.
Lincoln would spend long hours playing with them to forget about the horrors of the Civil War happening outside his windows. During one fancy dinner party, he was even caught feeding Tabby with a gold fork. When his wife Mary Todd Lincoln suggested it might be inappropriate, he simply shrugged it off. He once turned to a guest and said,
“My cat Dixie is more intelligent than my entire cabinet!”
Even when the weight of the world was on his shoulders, Lincoln never lost his sense of humor or his love for the “little guys,” whether they were children or animals. He was a man of the people who never forgot where he came from.
He proved that you can be strong enough to win 300 wrestling matches, but gentle enough to grow a beard just to make a little girl happy.
Greatness is not about being untouchable or perfect. It is about being humble enough to listen, brave enough to be yourself, and kind enough to care for those who have no power. True leaders are those who keep their hearts open, even when the world tries to close them.
From We Are Human Angels
My Commentary:
Abraham Lincoln’s story reminds us that true greatness is not simply the ability to lead. It is the humility to listen.
Imagine a man seeking the highest office in the nation taking seriously the advice of an eleven-year-old girl. Lincoln could easily have ignored Grace Bedell. Instead, he listened — and even remembered her when his train later passed through her hometown.
There is something beautiful in that humility. Jesus continually reminded His disciples that greatness was not about position or power. He even placed a child among them and said, “Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”
Lincoln possessed enormous physical strength and eventually enormous political power. Yet some of the qualities remembered most warmly are his humor, tenderness, compassion, and willingness to listen.
Perhaps that is a lesson every leader — and every one of us — needs.
Wisdom does not always come from the powerful, educated, or important. Sometimes God speaks through the person we are most tempted to overlook.
Great people do not need to have all the answers.
They need hearts humble enough to listen — even when the voice belongs to a child.
In this political season, what qualities do YOU look for in the people who you want to lead you? Does character matter to you, or are all politicians corrupt?
IT IS BETTER TO WALK WITH GOD THAN TO WALK WITH A CROWD THAT IS GOING IN THE WRONG DIRECTION!
Are you feeling like I am these days? That it felt more like America a couple of years ago than it does today? This is why I wrote the book — WHAT MAKES AMERICA AMERICA.
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