ATTENTION TO DETAILS

I was recently at Walt Disney World, visiting the Magic Kingdom with my family. Upon exiting the park, my family and I had to wait for the monorail to pick us up and take us to our next destination. While waiting, I noticed a rather strange but refreshing sight.

I saw a woman who worked for Disney begin to clean the outside of a waste container. At first she sprayed it and wiped it down. Then she began to buff out the scratch marks on the metal part. She worked on it for what seemed to be about 10 minutes. She was determined to see this trash can shine.

Most people would not take notice of a person doing this. I found it absolutely intriguing. In fact, I was willing to wait her out just to see how long she would continue to focus her efforts. If it hadn't been for the arrival of our ride, I would have stayed as long as it took. For all I know, she might still be there.

Will anyone ever walk up to that waste container and say "WOW! What a sparkling clean trash can!" I seriously doubt it.

But, I am certain beyond a shadow of a doubt, no one will ever complain or write a letter describing the horrible experience they had at Disney World because of a dirty trash can.

Now, multiply this woman's efforts by 47,000. That's how many Cast Members (employees) Disney has working in Orlando, Florida. There is a reason Disney has the reputation that it does. I know that every cast member may not focus so hard on the details as this woman, but imagine if even half of them did (and that is a very lowball figure). Now you are beginning to learn their secret (or at least one of them).

Could you imagine we as Christians taking that kind of ownership in our churches? Taking such care of the details, no matter how menial or unnoticed? It is my hope and prayer that the Church will be filled with such a desire to see Christ glorified, that the smallest task will be done with the greatest dedication.

Walt Disney said "You can dream, create, design, and build the most wonderful place in the world . . . but it requires people to make the dream a reality."

Imagine if our churches understood the weight of that statement? Let's take pleasure in paying attention to the details. Let's take delight in the small things that might not even be noticed by any one else. But let me assure you . . . someone does notice And HE's the reason we do it to begin with. HE's the reason we pay attention to the details. It is for HIS glory we labor. It is for HIS recognition that we serve so diligently.

It may be just a trash can. But SOMEONE is watching and taking delight in your labor.

Onward and Upward,

Stephen