“What brought you joy today?” That was the surprising question that a customer asked me at work recently; this came from a female customer that I had never waited on before. I often joke that I’ve worked at Chick-fil-A since the dawn of time, but in all those years, no one has ever asked me the question “what brought you joy today?” In essence, I answered that it was a joy to have the opportunity wake up again today; to have a beating heart, and to have the health to be at Chick-fil-A serving. Incidentally, just to complete the story, I asked this lady the same question she asked me, and essentially, she replied that it was a joy for her to be in Colorado, visiting her boyfriend. This whole exchange reminded me that there is great power in being others-focused.
It is easy to be reflective at
this time of the year. One looks back at
the previous days, and we also look forward to the coming year. I certainly have been reflective of the past,
and anticipating the coming days. 2023
was a year that was absolutely shattering to me in so many ways. I was shattered emotionally, and my health
deteriorated; actually I wasn’t far from dying.
So, based on all that, 2024 has been such a gift to me. I was already contemplating how much I relish
the gift of life, and this was largely why I answered the “what brought you joy”
question in the way I did. I love Psalm
3:5, where David writes, “I lay down and slept; I awoke, for the Lord sustained
me.” Every day is a gift. It has been a tremendous blessing this year
to heal, not just physically, but also emotionally.
This is not to suggest that
2024 was a year filled with smooth sailing and sunny skies. There have been several difficult moments;
significant episodes that I could go on and on detailing. Perhaps I will divulge more specifics later
on, but for now, know that there were hard days this year. Through it all, I found myself grateful not
just for my physical life, but also for my friendship and fellowship with the
God of the universe. Everything that I
am, everything that I do flows from knowing Him. In fact, I
want to take a moment to publicly give the Lord all the glory, honor, and
praise for anything helpful or beneficial in my writings. Psalm 115:1 in the NLT, says, “Not to us, O
Lord, not to us, but to Your Name goes all the glory.”
Let me also quickly
acknowledge that I am still very much what you might classify a work in progress. I’m so grateful that you take the time to
read this blog, but don’t think of me as the paragon of virtue. Yes, I certainly desire to honor God in all I
do, but I fall short seemingly every day.
Paul put it in this way in Philippians 3:
“Not that I have already
attained, or am already perfected, but I press on…I do not count myself to have
apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and
reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for
the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (verses 12-14). Amen and amen!
Let me end with this. I also love the words from earlier in
Philippians; in chapter 1, verse 6, we read these words: “Being confident of
this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it
until the day of Jesus Christ.” That
seems a fitting note to end this year’s blogs on!
God bless,
Kevin
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