January 18. Would You Double Park, To Benefit Your Team?

As a leader, how do you greet the day? Imagine the scene of the arrival doors at the airport. In your mind’s eye, can you see the slow-moving traffic and the incredible excitement in the atmosphere? There are smiles, anticipation, hugs, and waves.

Overall, it is a happy place and people are excited. Makes me realize that every day is an opportunity to choose what attitude we greet the day with. Can you relate to that feeling of the anticipated arrival that the people have waiting on loved ones coming home?

Do we meet every morning like we meet the arrivals at the airport? What would our teams be able to do with a little extra quickness in our step? Can we find the next face, shoot them a smile and a generous wave like a father receiving a son or daughter returning for their first Christmas break from college?

That sounds like a great way to greet our teams at the house, office, store, or plant. That sounds like a great way to greet those around us as we awaken and move from place to place. The gates at the airport have that excitement the entire day. It never stops as the travels continue to arrive.

Will we stop with our attitude before the day is over? Our teams look to us to set the tone. How will you choose to greet the day?

As Christians, this might help us to imagine what it was like at the feeding of the five thousand in the Bible. In Matthew 14:13-21, we read about the event. Can you imagine the excitement as Christ arrived?

If this happened in today’s world do you think that people would double park, maybe even triple park if they knew that Christ was about to arrive any minute? I think that they would be jockeying around one another to get close and find him.

When they did, would they have a frown or a face of excitement? I have news about an arrival but this one is not going to be at the airport or bus terminal necessarily! Christ is coming.

His arrival could be in any minute but if we do not see him in the next minute, he has sent his love and example for us until that time. We can choose. Will we do as he asked us to do and show an attitude of love towards ourselves and one another?

Will we shoot smiles to one another with a generous wave or will we continue to shoot bullets in the form of words of hate, or even actual bullets and wave weapons of destruction? Brothers and sisters, choose and choose wisely today for the airplane has departed and is on the way.

We have received the information about the departure and now the question is, how are we going to meet the plane? What is the first thing you can do about it in the next seven days?

Let us pray, Jesus, you came and taught us why God loves us. Not only did you teach us the why of God, but you showed us how to love one another. We pray today that we make this day a day of arrival. A day where we greet others in love.

A day where we begin to make a generous wave the norm and not the exception. A day where the smiles outnumber the frowns. A day where we take comfort in the palm of God’s hands instead of what we think comforts us here in the world. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen,