Personal Attention

With my daughters out for the evening, we were down to one child tonight. And after returning from dinner out with the temporary "only child," when we were snuggling on the couch, watching a movie of his choice, I thought about how absolutely gleeful he was. For this one moment in time, we were completely immersed in what he wanted to do, and you could see that he was happy about that.

On a daily basis, ministering to the needs of a family of five is a challenge. While I certainly try to make sure everyone gets personal attention (and I think I sometimes succeed), the personal attention can be short--walking to an activity, listening to a story from the day, studying for a test. The needs of the rest of the family are always just a step away, and my attention is interrupted. Regularly.

Now, I think there is something kind of exciting about a family of five working together, members taking turns to be in the spotlight, siblings helping siblings when parents aren't available, getting the job done as a team. But as I sat there on the couch with my gleeful son, I thought about how it feels at work to be singled out. Sure, it's great to be part of a team. But when we are singled out for our own accomplishments on the team, we too are gleeful. We too like the individual attention that my son was so excited to get tonight.

On a daily basis, I will still be ministering to the needs of a family of five. But, thanks to seeing the glee in my son's eyes tonight, perhaps I will be a little more cognizant of what personal attention means to us all. It's saying "good job," not just to the team, but to the individuals on the team. It's taking the time to discover, even just for a moment, what each team member loves. It's closing out the needs of everyone else, even if only briefly, to give that personal attention to one person. It's oddly easy. But, like so many easy things, it makes a difference. To the person. And ultimately, to the team as well.