Behind every good man … there is a surprised mother-in-law!
Ok, I know that’s not the way that saying goes, but I have heard it said that way.
I think the point of the “good man” saying is the same as the “turtle on a fence post” saying. Are you familiar with that one?
“If you see a turtle on a fence post, you know he didn’t get there by himself.”
“If you see a turtle on a fence post, you know he didn’t get there by himself.” Share on XThe point is that there are no self-made men, women, leaders, successful people. There is always someone (often many someones) who is teaching, advising, encouraging, and often praying and sacrificing behind the scenes.
The only thing we can really manage to do completely unassisted is mess stuff up.
The point is that there are no self-made men, women, leaders, successful people. There is always someone (often many someones) who is teaching, advising, encouraging, and often praying and sacrificing behind the scenes. The only thing… Share on XI have, on more than one occasion, been a self-made mess!
But anything I’ve ever really accomplished has been largely a result of great support, encouragement, feedback, and assistance.
This brings me to the heart of today’s post—another in my “Say it Now” series celebrating and affirming people who are still around to hear those affirmations.
It seems like almost everyone I am mentioning in these posts is someone I met in 2008 when I transitioned into my current ministry position.
When I moved into the director’s office at Harvest Baptist Association on June 1, 2008, there was a desk in the reception area that was occupied by my friend, Elaine.
I had been blessed over the years in my pastoral with some great part-time secretaries/assistants. Each of them had been people I had hired myself.
At HBA, for the first time, I had a full-time assistant. And she had already been there for four years.
She told me later how nervous she was that I would want to replace her with “my” person (someone who I would hire myself).
From my perspective, it was an incredible gift to have someone already in place who knew where to find things, who to call when something broke, how the various processes worked, and where all the bodies were buried. (Just kidding about that last one).
There was definitely a learning curve for me in figuring out new processes, procedures, and unwritten rules. There was also the issue of my being able to actually let go of things that I could do for myself but didn’t really need to do personally.
Elaine was patient with my learning process, respectful and helpful when I had a new idea (because that’s the way I’m wired), gave really great feedback when I asked, attempted everything I ever asked her to do, and became (and remains to this day) a trusted friend.
Best of all, she called me “your highness” in the office.
That’s actually a very loose paraphrase of what she said. What she actually said was, “I need your tallness for a minute” because she couldn’t reach something.
When she retired at the end of 2019, she made sure that I wan’t left floundering about. She spent her last month training the next occupant of her desk.
All of us have people in our lives who have operated behind the scenes—sometimes in our shadows—to help us develop our effectiveness.
All of us have people in our lives who have operated behind the scenes—sometimes in our shadows—to help us develop our effectiveness. Share on XWho is your Elaine?
Be amazing today, my friend.
