An unexpected award

I received some awards Friday. Six of them, to be exact.

I was fortunate enough to have some of the work I produce for The Anderson News recognized by the Kentucky Press Association. Two of my entries won their categories, four others were awarded third place, with two of the thirds coming in divisions where I also was awarded first place.

I would be lying if I said it was not nice to be recognized for excellence by my peers. I have received many various awards over the years with the plaques and trophies commemorating the first-place finishes having a prominent place in my office. I am a competitor, whether it is on the basketball court or typing out something on a keyboard.

Being the best is my goal every day and those six awards are the exclamation points behind the long hours and hard work that I invest in my job as sports editor of The Anderson News. And I will admit I am proud of them.

But those six awards paled in comparison to the one I had received earlier in the day. In fact, there really was no comparison.

My iPhone alerted me of an incoming Facebook message. It was a name I had not seen or heard for decades.

It was from a girl who had been a part of the church youth group in my first ministry. It was way back in 1978-79. Jimmy Carter was in the White House, I drove a Plymouth Duster and Robin Williams was becoming a household name for his antics on “Mork and Mindy.”

“Long time no see....yet (it) seems like only yesterday you were youth minister and staying with us at mom and dad's,” she wrote.

We had seen each other a time or two after I left the church but drifted apart, as I have with so many people over the years. I can't honestly say the last time I saw Suzie (not her real name), but would guess it has been at least 30 years.

I remembered her family and the fun I used to have in their home. I also knew they liked me quite a bit when I served in that church.

Through the miracle of Facebook, Suzie found me and said she remembered me “being a youth minister, friend and big brother all rolled into one, watching ball games and chatting about what the past week's events held, and advice and inspirational talks and support for a teen trying to just make it through another week of high school.”

I was floored.

Suzie shared some of her personal story, then wrote, “being just a teen back then i probably didn't say at all or not enough thank you for the difference you made in my life, giving me stepping stones to rise above the challenges and continue on a road less traveled … so if you ever doubt that your life has made a (difference) and no one has told you it has, I'm telling you now, and thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

Sitting in the parking lot of the Lawrenceburg Kroger, I was literally in tears.

I never knew.

The rewards that I received that night? Nice. They do look good on the resume. They do mean that people in my profession believe my work meets or exceeds a standard of excellence. But I also know that many different things could happen to tear down the platform with which I have been incredibly blessed.

And one day I will be gone. A hundred years from now, it is doubtful anyone would know who John Herndon was.

But what Suzie told me? That is eternal. It is a reward that can't be put on a plaque and nailed to a wall.

Suzie ministered to me in a way she probably did not know either. You see, I was a little down Friday. I was exhausted from a long week and was looking at a busy weekend. 

Suddenly, I had a spring in my step.

Have you told someone how they have impacted your life?

It's easy to criticize. I know. I might be the world's worst. At times, it serves me well as a journalist, but in human relations, it's not always the best trait to own.

Have you built someone up today?

Paul said in I Thessalonians 5:10-11, “He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”

“Thank you for the difference you made in my life, giving me stepping stones to rise above the challenges and continue on a road less traveled .”

And thank you, Suzie, from the bottom of my heart. You have now made a huge difference in my life, too.