Details

Great leaders share many traits, yet one stands out more than the others.  It is their attention to details, especially personal ones.  They may not remember your name but they know far more about you than they should!  For the average person the details may not add up to much.  Yet to the person facing life’s obstacles; it is as if the pains, longing, and trials of your life have been repeated shared.  The care cannot be faked.  The concern cannot be manufactured.  It is either there or it isn’t.  The interest may be short-lived but it is intense and action oriented.
 
Somehow people miss the obvious models given by great leaders.  It’s almost as if the blame for leadership falls on the followers.  If you don’t get it, it is your fault!  It you don’t understand you must be dense.  If you do not, cannot, or will not follow there is no link to the actions, accountability, and responsibility of those in leadership.
 
Jesus could have been excused for not knowing the fears, uncertainties, and doubts of his disciples.  After everything had passed there was an inbuilt excuse.  Yet the model of what follows is a lesson for anyone interested in making a difference.  “Eight days later, his disciples were again in the room.  This time Thomas was with them. Jesus came through the locked doors, stood among them, and said, ‘Peace to you.’
 
Then he focused his attention on Thomas.  ‘Take your finger and examine my hands.  Take your hand and stick it in my side.  Don't be unbelieving.  Believe.’” (John 20.26, 27) 
 
The world is searching for those willing to make a difference.  Repeated hurricanes threaten.  Amber alerts come, again and again.  Children are at risk, even while sleeping at home.  You and I can be part of the force which touches lives, delivers hope, and invokes peace.  The action we take doesn’t like in grand schemes but in the details, often messy details of living in the moment.  We can remember.  We can pay attention.  We can be alert.  We can act.