Grateful For Those Who Work Behind The Scenes

And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, 

when you did it to one of the least of these 

my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’

Matthew 25:40

 We see people in the forefront all the time, but how many times do we even give a thought to the people who work behind the scenes to make things happen.

I was told by a professor in college to make sure you know who helps you to be who you are.  He then shared the story of his own Ethics Professor who was in the middle of a conference in his office when the janitor came in to empty the trash.  The other professors in the conference ignored the janitor and gave him looks of disapproval for interrupting their esteemed colleague. Instead, this esteemed Department Head greeted the janitor by name, inquired about his family, even asking about the janitor's sick child by name.  The other professors were astounded and offended.  

After the janitor completed his task and had gone, the Department Head looked at the rest of the highly educated professors and said, "If you don't know the name of the person who empties your trash, you are overlooking the very people who make your life possible!  What would happen if George didn't come empty my trash twice a week?  What about the cooks and servers in the cafeteria?  You might think them to be beneath you, but if they did not do their jobs, where would you be?  Always be grateful to those who help you be who you are, for without them you would be nothing!"   

Think about the people Jesus took the time to get to know:
     * Tax Collectors
     * Prostitutes
     * Manual Laborers
     * Lepers
     * People with issues
     * And how about the criminal on the cross with Him?

Never forget to be grateful to the people who helped you get where you are and the ones who help you in the seemingly smallest of ways.      

You Hear But Are You Listening?

So Noah did everything as the Lord commanded him.

~Genesis 7:5

Sherlock Holmes was famous for pointing out, "You see, but you do not observe!  I see AND observe and, thus, many crimes are solved."  What about us?  

These last several days have drenched in rain, which has resulted in flooding.  People have had to leave their homes and even evacuate completely to higher ground because of the flooding. People have joked about needing to build an ark just to get to work.  And, yes, I have made that same joke as well.

Sunday morning, however, we awoke to soaked rug and the sound of dripping water (which we heard in spite of the rain sounds from outside).  I walked into the den to find a large, wet, dripping section of sheet rock and off to the attic I climbed to attempt to discover the source of this leak.  Sure enough, the roof did have a spot where the water was seeping in. So, after putting down a large pot to catch the water, off to into the storms we went to Stuff-Mart to see if we could find something to stem the building flood. 

On the way home to tackle the issue with the hope that we had what we needed to at least patch the leaky roof, the thought occurred to me that Noah's neighbors must have thought him insane to build an enormous boat.  They probably laughed and joked.....until the rain began and didn't let up.  

Noah, on the other hand, was more focused on doing what God had told him to do rather than listen to his neighbors.  Has God ever nudged you to do something you KNEW was the right thing to do, but you chose not to do it because you felt you'd be laughed at?  Yeah me too.  Has God ever put on your heart to do something, and you did it with all your dedication...until people started making fun of you or told you that what you were doing would never make a difference?  Yeah, me too.

Yet Noah did EVERYTHING that God commanded him to do.  And in doing that, Noah and his family came out okay. 

Those who personally know me can tell you that I don't preach at people, rather I talk with people, I hand out Tootsie Rolls, I listen to them, I make Butt Ugly But Big Afghans (BUBBAs) to give away....but I don't preach.  God laid on my heart, many years ago, to listen to people and share whatever He put on my mind to share with them.  But Noah is a great example of just that, do what God has put on your heart no matter what other people might say.

To paraphrase Sherlock Holmes, "You Hear, But Are You Listening?"