Another First

I just got home from a two and a half hour quarterly business meeting at church, and I survived.  It was a first for me - I went up on the podium and stood in front of the microphone and gave a report and made some recommendations from the Security and Safety Committee.  It was the first time I'd spoken like this in church before.  Sure, I've spoken in Sunday School, and in the women's group, and in our committee meetings, but it was the first time I'd spoken in front of the majority of the regular church members.  And it was a piece of cake.  I wasn't nervous at all, and even gave a big smile when I was finished with my report.  

After the meeting, a dozen or so people came up to me and congratulated me.  At first,  I said "For what?"  and the woman replied "For standing up in front of almost 200 people and talking." Others said that they were glad I gave them the information.  As I was walking back to my seat, a church member who is a doctor and also part of our medical team, spoke up and said that she wanted to publicly recognize me for what I've done as head of security and safety at church.  She said some very kind words that made me feel great.  But after the meeting, I went up to her and gave her a hug and thanked her for her kind words, and I told her that the recognition wasn't necessary; I do this because I feel this is what I'm supposed to be doing in this part of my life.  She said "Yes, I know that, but people need to know what you do so they can appreciate you like we do."  So with that, I accepted the recognition and told her thanks.  It's not that I've never been told "Way to go, Puddin"; it's just that I've never been told that at my current church before. And it felt great.  But on my way to the door, I was stopped by a few other members who had some security concerns, so my glory was short-lived.  Back to keeping my church and the members safe.