Will You Accept Your Assignments?

 Happy Friday, Friends!

I hope and trust this post finds you all having a great day as a beautiful new opportunity – so full of hope, opportunity, and promise! – begins to dawn in my Sweet Home Alabama!

On Monday we had a terrific speaker at Rotary. Mansfield “Pete” Key III is an international motivational speaker who also serves as the Character Coach for the Athletic Department at the University where I currently serve. You can learn more about him at www.olepetekeyinc.com

During his presentation, Pete told a very poignant story about when he was in grade school. Pete had one teacher who was negative and critical, however he had this other teacher, Mrs. Stockard, who saw great potential in Pete. She took the time to understand him, and she chose to help him. Today he credits where he is because of this sweet teacher who saw past the challenges to the potential, and she gave him hope that he could become who he was created, and had the potential, to become.

Pete then said something that was profound to me. Paraphrasing here, he said, “Whose destiny (or eternity) will be impacted by your assignment?” I have thought about that so many times this week. You and I have gifts and abilities, we are in situations and circumstances where we are given the opportunity to impact lives…will we?

We, at least I, can get so caught up in the rush and challenges of life that I don’t thoughtfully consider the impact of every word and deed. I highlight “every” because I know how easy it is to get caught up in the big, grandiose, moments however I have found that God moves powerfully in the seemingly little ones.

Have you ever been walking into a store, and you felt this strange prompting to say “hi,” to encourage, or to help someone? That is an assignment. Have you ever seen someone hurting and you just felt this compulsion to be by them, to let them know that they are not alone, not with words or deeds but simply with your presence? That is an assignment. You see, there are hundreds of assignments given to us every day. The only thing left to be decided is whether we will accept the assignment and the impact very well may impact someone’s destiny or eternity.

At a previous institution I had the honor and privilege of serving at, we had a lot of alumni who were physicians. I used to love to ask how or when they decided to be a physician and then to listen to their stories. Over and over again it would be something like, “I had this teacher in 4^th grade who told me I would be a great doctor” or something very similar. Everything changed because one person accepted their assignment and spoke life into the life of another. And if it were possible to calculate how many people each of those physicians touched throughout their careers, how many lives they had saved, we would begin to understand the true power and impact of one person accepting their assignment.

Maybe, like me, you are blessed to see the direct correlation between what you get to do every day and the impact it has on the destiny of others. Perhaps you don’t and, if that is you, I want to encourage you to look again. There is no “just a” …you know, “I am just a [feel in the blank with whatever job you want].” If you have a job where you interact with only one other person, or you have a job that affects only one other person, you have an assignment. Let us clean off the self-focused lenses in viewing our lives and let us be open to the opportunities to love, care for, and serve others.

Friends, we will be given countless assignments today. If we are focused only on ourselves, our problems, our challenges, and our worries we are very likely to miss them. If, however, we will choose a different path, perhaps we will be used to speak life into a child who will become the scientist that cures some form of cancer, or we will show someone the potential they have to become a great writer, artist, or singer. Here is the thing, we don’t own that ultimate outcome of what anyone becomes – that is God’s responsibility. Ours is to simply honor our assignments, one day, one precious soul, at a time.

Please don’t hesitate to contact me if there is ever anything I can do for you or your family. I will always help you any way I can. You can reach me at kevin@whatwillyourinfluencebe.com.

Have a great day, a wonderful weekend, please cherish your precious family, and please stay well!

Kev