Dear Friends,
It doesn’t take much to make people happy. Yesterday I challenged you to keep an eye out for ways to encourage others, and I took my own message to heart. Let me share how, and hopefully my comments won’t be taken as self-serving. I only want to point out the fact that little things can mean a lot.
Yesterday on my walk up to the church from the auto repair shop where I left my car, I encountered some wildflowers growing on the side of the road. I don’t know what they were-looked like Morning Glories- but they caught my attention. Immediately, I thought what a beautiful bouquet they would make, so I stopped and picked a few blossoms. I had a special member of our church family in mind to become the bouquet beneficiary, but I thought I would first have a little fun with her.
After stealing a few zinnias from our campus and arranging them in a plastic cup with my newly picked wildflowers, I called the recipient on the phone and told her she needed to come to the gym right away as we had a serious problem that needed immediate attention. Arriving in a state of major panic, I led her into the bathroom and pointed to the little red light on the paper dispenser, and I told her it was out. “That’s it,” she remarked. “Yes, that’s it my friend,” and we looked at each other and laughed. “You are mean,” she jestfully commented, and I replied, “Yes I can be, but not today” as I handed her my fresh picked bouquet of stolen flowers crunched together in a vase made from a plastic drinking cup. Her smile was remarkable- almost as wide as mine, for as I mentioned yesterday, gift giving often blesses the giver more than the receiver. Yes, little things can mean a lot.
On my way home I decided to stop at one of my favorite Chinese restaurants, the House of Chong, to see one of my favorite waiters. We on staff have gotten to know him through numerous visits, and our previous encounters have resulted in a unique kind of friendship. I ordered my go to-Moo Shu Chicken- and within minutes Lee had brought me my Hot and Sour soup, crispy fried noodles and a pitcher of steaming hot tea. The restaurant has been in Middletown for 30 years, and Lee told me he has been a waiter there for 16 of them. And when Lee brought out my entree I said, “Lee this is the best Hot and Sour soup I have ever had, and you serve the best fried noodles anywhere in town, and you know what, Lee, you are one the best waiters I have ever known.” You would have thought he had just hit the lotto jackpot. He was beaming from ear to ear. Now I was serious. The food at the House of Chong is excellent, and the service is first class, and Lee is a wonderful guy who probably doesn’t laugh much or receive the affirmation he deserves, but yesterday I believe my words, as insignificant as they might seem, brought just a little sunshine to a hardworking waiter who probably doesn’t receive a lot of encouragement.
All of this is to say that it doesn’t take much to bring a little joy to others. A few flowers stuck in a plastic cup, and a few words spoken to a waiter in a nearly empty restaurant.
Paul writes “Encourage one another and build one another up” (1 Thess 5:11)…. “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works…….encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the day drawing near” ( Heb 10:24-25).
Yes, little things can and do mean a lot and as Mother Teresa used to say, “ Kind words are short and easy to speak but their echoes are endless.”
Have a wonderful weekend, and don't forget to tell Lee when you see him that I helped make him famous in the hearts of some of the readers of Leadership Thoughts.
Yours in faith and friendship,
Tom
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