A Pat on the Shoulder

Someone made a simple gesture yesterday that was very powerful. I am confident that the guy who made this gesture has no idea how meaningful it was to me. Morning worship was a difficult time given all of the glitches we experienced (see previous post for details). Just before I got up to preach the man sitting behind me reached out and patted me on the shoulder. I assume that the motivation was to let me know that he was with me, that despite all of the problems that I needed to just preach what the Lord had led me to prepare. It was a powerful moment.

You see I take everything that happens in worship personally. I accept responsibility for it, whether I had anything to do with it or not. I don't mean in a boastful way, but with a "this is really important and if it goes poorly then I feel responsible" feeling. Given everything that had gone wrong up to that point I was struggling not to be distracted which is not a great frame of mind from which to preach. So as I am about to rise from my chair in the front row and go preach I feel a hand on my shoulder and got a double tap. That is a guy thing, not a squeeze that might be a girl thing, but a double tap on my shoulder. I took it to mean "go to it, I am with you".

I must confess that I am rather emotional as I type about this now more than 24 hours later. I really needed that encouragement. I love that he did it, I love that God prompted him to do it and I love that I have that kind of support.

So go ahead and let those around you know that you are supporting them. Let them know that they are not alone in whatever they are facing or are about to attempt. Go ahead give them a pat on the shoulder, it just might make a big difference in their life.

Who are you patting on the shoulder?