THE BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS

365 Days of Thanksliving — Day 148

Y’all, I have to tell you about my morning. The way it started was just... "choice." (See that 80s allusion there? Wink, wink.) Seriously, it wasn't just tubular; it was the kind of impetus that jumpstarts an entire week.

I rolled into the office, fired up the PC, and settled in with a breakfast "sammie" to ease into the grind. And when I say sammie, I mean a pile of bacon stuffed between two slices of bread so thin they were basically just there for structural integrity. No "L," no "T," none of those pesky veggies. Just pure meat, homemade mayo, and a dream. You needed to know that. It was the crucial warmup for what came next.

So, there I was—gorging on bacon and a side banana (and NO, I didn't put the banana on the sandwich; I’m not a Philistine)—when I opened Facebook to snoop at who’d glanced at my post from last night. Gotta stroke the ego, ya know?

Then I heard it: Ba-llingggg!

A Messenger notification popped up from a friend at church. I won’t share her name because I don't want to make her blush, but what she wrote nearly put tears in my eyes.

"Hope this morning finds you more rested! Just wanted to tell you that I really appreciated your sermon yesterday. I woke this morning with “do better” on my mind. The church needs pastors who keep standing on the word instead of just making everyone comfortable!

What I appreciate about you is that you are consistent—you’re the same person standing in the pulpit, writing a blog, or having a conversation outside of church. I can see the love of Jesus in you. Just want to say thanks for the job you’re doing. You’re appreciated so much and the message God is using you to share IS BEING HEARD!"

Talk about encouragement. It’s not every day you get that kind of feedback, regardless of your career field. Now, to be fair, the congregation I’m serving is far more encouraging than not—and we’re well beyond the "honeymoon period."

I’m not sharing this to toot my own horn. In fact, this isn't about me at all. This is about a Christian friend living out the ideals of Jesus Christ. She’s showing love and encouragement exactly as instructed by Christ and the apostles; she’s loving her neighbor as herself. And isn't that the highest ideal? Jesus said:

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and most important command. The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself." (Matthew 22:37–40)

A few decades later, the Apostle Paul reminded the church in Thessalonica to keep up the good work, saying, “…encourage one another and build each other up, as you are already doing.”

Look, we’re all human. Sometimes the software encoded within our organic hard-drives defaults to "criticism" instead of "encouragement." I’m just as guilty as anyone; far too often I have to check my own heart at the door. But there’s hope, and I saw it today in the heart of my friend.

Today, I’m thankful for friends whose default setting is love. While the pulpit I speak from is public, don't we all have "pulpits" from which we teach others every day? I’m thankful that my friend’s pulpit speaks as clearly and poignantly as mine—if not more.

Thank you, PJ; you’re a gift from God!

What are you thankful for today?