Honouring …

Last night was a special night for me. Icon and I travelled to Cobourg, Ontario to speak at a church dinner gathering. We had been invited to come and share about Bikers’ Church, which we did. The people were wonderful, and we really did enjoy our time with them.

What made the night so special was seeing Murray & Ann Griffin in attendance. Now, you may not know who they are, but they are special people in my life. You see, they were the first pastors that I worked with after graduating from Bible College. Murray hired me as an assistant pastor. I was young, inexperienced, unsure of myself, and the Griffins gave me the opportunity to grow and develop under their leadership. While I wasn’t at the church a long time, it was still a valuable time for me. It was the start of my journey as a full-time minister.

I made a point of thanking them publicly last night. And then Icon did something that was very cool. I had him come up and share for a few minutes (he was supposed to take no more than five, but enjoyed a good fifteen – hey, he’s learning from me!). He shared a little of his journey and really connected to the people. But then he did something that made me very proud: he turned his focus to the Griffins and said, "Just as you impacted Rob’s life, I am the next generation of that impact. You not only have a part to play in his ministry, but in mine as well."

Wow. Where did he learn that kind of wisdom?

Do you honour the people who have had a role to play in your life? Do you take time to thank them. Sometimes we just take it for granted that they know how much we appreciate them. But my experience has been that when you take a few minutes to simply say "thank you", it can have an incredible affect on people.

Maybe you should take a minute to say that to someone from your past today. I know it blessed me to be able to do that with the Griffins last night.