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.
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