Day 22: Admire
Who do you admire? Does a specific person come to mind? Does a type of person come to mind? Admiration comes in many forms. Some say imitation is the highest form of admiration. We often imitate those we admire by how we dress, speak, act, and even what we read. I know that I imitate other preachers’ verbal tics even without realizing it.
There are many people I admire. Some of them have overcome great struggles in life and it is their determination that impresses me. Others have so much abundance in their life and choose to be generous. I think their generosity is admirable. Some of those whom I admire live extremely ordinary lives, but they have extraordinary love and compassion for others.
Sometimes those we admire will disappoint us. Given enough time they will all disappoint us. They falter and we question their worthiness of our admiration. Lately, God has been challenging me to hold my affinities more lightly. Catherine Cook said, “If you’re not making mistakes, then you are not making decisions”.
Leaders make decisions every day. Many times they make these with incomplete information. I am part of a ministry team that takes new leaders through a mock case study. They are asked to make decisions without much background or context. It is challenging to make plans with information gaps, but it is also reality.
In the last year, many leaders were forced to do this very thing. They made decisions with missing information and misinformation. Even experienced leaders had to course correct multiple times. And the leaders I admired most were the ones who kept getting back up each time they were knocked down.
As Lent crosses the halfway point, I am asking myself who I admire. I am also asking myself to forgive those who have disappointed me along the way. Most of them were making decisions with limited information in a context that I did not understand. All of them are human and humans falter. I am human and I falter. Are there any leaders that you need to forgive this Lent? Is there someone you admire who has recently been knocked down? Here is a prayer that I am praying. I will leave it with you.
Lord, ___________ is someone I admire. They have made some decisions that I did not agree with in the last year. I have been disappointed. Lord, I forgive them. I ask you to help me to forgive and trust them again in the future. Please give me eyes to see when I have faltered as well. Bless them in the coming year. Amen.
