MY BEST CHEERLEADER

Milton, here for Kristy:

A preacher needs a cheerleader--his own personal cheerleader. He needs someone to be in his corner. 

I had one for 37 years. Kristy never let me preach without finding something good to say about my sermon. She would come up to me after we gotten home and more often than not she had a  compliment for me that made me feel my efforts at preaching were not too bad.

Preaching is both rewarding and draining. Sometimes a preacher really feels he has rung the bell, but there are many times it may seem that the bell rung the preacher. There have been times that I thought the bell fell on me.

I had one lady tell me years ago that my just completed sermon was the best sermon she had ever heard in her life. The next day a deacon told me that he heard someone say that same sermon I had just preached was the worst sermon they had ever heard.

Go figure?

Kristy knew that my ego was fragile like most men's egos are fragile. That is why most men are so defensive about the least little criticism or suggestion. The big men are really little boys in grown bodies. Their egos can't handle the critisim or help very well most of the time.

Anyway, Kristy knew what her man needed and she found a way to build my confidence through her encouragement that did not make her a big liar in how she complimented me. To be honest, I wouldn't care if she did fib a little just to boost my spirits. How is that for a transparent confession?

I am writing this after just returning from our midweek prayer service where I spoke. Tonight was the first time I have spoken in this service in several months. I have had such faithful help to carry me through this time, but tonight I waxed part of an elephant. (That is preacher talk for not doing too bad a job.)

I could see Kristy sitting there on the first row. Of course, she wasn't there. She is in heaven. It just felt like she was there.

She is one of the great cloud of witnesses cheering us on. 

She was cheering most for me.