Prize Winner

I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory. Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands. Psalm 63:2-4 (NIV)

Last fall, I saw an advertisement for a prize from a national organization promoting history and historic preservation. It was for a person who has done outstanding work in their community saving the past. I decided to nominate my boss. Some might think it odd that I chose him as he is primarily known in our state and community for being wise in the areas of finance and technology. He has made our office into an example of a fiscally sound and technologically innovative government agency. What many people do not realize is that he is also very interested in preserving our county’s past. The nomination was a complicated process which required letters of support, photographs, newspaper articles and other evidence of his work. It was not hard for me to gather letters of support from people not just in our town, but from around the state. They recognize the great effort our office makes in our community through history museums and saving historic buildings and artifacts. We have four outstanding local history museums with wonderful fun programming to educate our residents and visitors about the past. We host the largest History Fair in the nation. We have the oldest county historical archives in the state of Florida. However, I had to remind the letter writers to make my boss the focus on their letter. While they admired the work that our staff of fifteen does, some were not clear about the role our boss played in it all. In fact, some questioned why I was not the one being nominated since I am the supervisor of the work. They laughed and said that they did not realize all of our efforts were actually done by one man. I reminded them of the truth. No matter what we do, it would be for nothing without the power our boss gives us. He acquires the money that supports all of our work. He gives us the freedom to be creative and plan our programs. He grants us the authority to push for preservation of our past. Without him behind us, we would be failures in our efforts. When I was done with the nomination, I had a large stack of support letters and much documentation. I mailed it all away and heard nothing for many months. Recently, I learned that my boss won the prize! A friend asked if he was going to split it with me. “No”, I replied, “He earned it.” “But, you do the work,” she said. She still did not get it. The same goes with my spiritual life. Some may applaud my good works. They may think me a marvelous teacher. They may remark on my fine testimony. What they need to truly seek is the One I serve. Without Him I would be nothing. He is the one who deserves the glory and recognition. If there is any applause or praise to be given, it belongs to God. My lips will glorify Him.