Thursday, August 30, 2018

Legacy Revisited


Legacy Revisited


This picture hit me between the eyes just now, for I haven’t always be a shining example of goodness and encouragement to everyone I meet.

Yet it is true.  Every person we touch becomes a part of our legacy.  The things we say in off-handed ways, the smile or lack thereof, the effort to help, encourage, add value – it all lives on after we’ve gone home.

You know how you often reflect on an exchange with someone in the course of doing business or doing life.  I do.  Just today I had a customer who was less than gracious simply because I wanted to confirm some information on my screen and make sure I was doing the proper transaction for the proper customer.  She was, to say the least, snarky.

See?  I remembered her. 

It happens in every moment of our day.  We leave an essence of who we are.  And others remember.  They remember how we went out of our way to benefit them.  They remember if we used their name properly.  They remember if we were friendly, or spoke with a pleasing quality, or with harshness.

And we thought our legacy was some award, some sterling act, some heroic moment when we were the star ace.


This is my
morning reflection.


P Michael Biggs
Words of Hope
Encouragement
Inspiration


Sunday, August 26, 2018

A Fresh Look at Family


A Fresh Look at Family

I took another up-close-and-personal look at my siblings again this past Friday.  I spent 5 hours in the ER in Lebanon, Tennessee.  My heart acted up again.  Thankfully, they were able to get things under control and I was finally released around 3:30 PM. 

CB was by my side the whole time.  The rest of my family – they gathered at my sister’s house waiting, hoping, praying, wanting so desperately to hear some good news from Carolyn about my condition.

I came back into the bosom of my family with a welcoming love everybody should experience.  They tried to show concern the best they knew how.  I was offered food no less than ten times.  My appetite had left me hours before.  I was offered to go lay down.  I wanted to be with family.

They gave me a comfortable recliner, and we sat and Carolyn gave them a blow-by-blow of what happened in ER.  Bottom line – my blood pressure sky-rocketed and they had a bit of a challenge in getting it under control.  Thankfully, it did start to respond and came down to acceptable levels for them to let me be released.

We sat, they chatted, didn’t demand much from me.  I just wanted to be in their presence for a while.  We don’t get that opportunity often enough.  And as they left, they gathered around me and brother-n-law Phil prayed a heart-felt prayer.  I cried, Phil cried, others cried, and then they left.

I believe their presence and care did as much to help restore me as the doctor and staff at the ER. 

It was a sweet moment. 

Thankful once again for family. 


This is my
morning reflection.


P Michael Biggs
Words of Hope
Encouragement
Inspiration

Sunday, August 19, 2018

Where Is Peace


Where Is Peace

For many, peace is found ocean-side, with the waves crashing, the breeze gently blowing and a 70-degree day with sunshine.

For others, it is family and those we love nearby, laughing, perhaps grilling burgers or hotdogs, and homemade ice cream.

Consider this – a severe thunderstorm is raging, the winds are howling, the rain is pelting the side of the mountain.  If you were a leaf on that mountain, you’d be tossed to the four winds.

And if you look closer, you would see a crevice on the side of the mountain, and in the crevice, you find a mother bird sitting bravely on her nest, guarding her small brood of three freshly hatched babies.

As far as the hatchlings are concerned, they are at the center of peace and calm, for Mom is on duty.

How many times has your Mom-figure, or Dad-figure been on duty to keep you safe and at peace in the middle of a storm? 

Peace is found when the storms rage, the unknown calls, or troubles knock on the door, and someone significant – a parent, a good friend, a minister, a God-presence, comes along and settles your heart and mind in the moment of terror.

That is about the best ‘peace’ I can think of.


This is my
morning reflection.


P Michael Biggs
Words of Hope
Encouragement
Inspiration