Who's Special?

Our son just went back to college today. We miss him already.

The other night, while having one of our last meals together before he went back to school, he got
the "Special Plate."

Yes, we have a "Special Plate" that is different from all the others. We put it out at one of the settings on the dinner table at our home to let someone know they're special! It's a blue Churchill Willow plate.

So, I said to my son: "Wow! You're the special one tonight!"

I remarked about how it was humorous when sat down to eat at our friend's house because they use the same Willow plates at every place setting. Their family also has a special plate they use and we know other other families that do too.

As a matter of fact, my wife makes it a point of using our fine china for everyone at the table when we celebrate a birthday, so that everyone is special!

I was thinking the other night about applying this "Special Treatment" to two areas of life that are special to me: my efforts to follow Jesus Christ and in my career as a project manager.

As a Christ follower, I want to take the time to treat people special. John 3:16 says that God loves the whole world. I want to keep asking myself: am I showing God's love to others? I've been working at trying to be "in the moment" and to spend time with the people I'm with, while I'm with them, to make them feel special.

As a Project Manager, I want to think about the people on my team. Am I complementing them and helping them to know how valued they are? Am I giving them the positive and specific feedback they need in order to feel appreciated?

So, who's special to you?