Acknowledgement Pages

Do you still read books?

OK.  That's not exactly what I mean.  I'm talking about hard-cover books.  Truth be told, it's become a rare occurrence in my life.  I have a Kindle app on my phone and that's become my normal.

Recently, however, I held a book in my hand.  Yes, I'm talking about something that has weight and required the use of one of those physical bookmark thingies! (Ask your parents.)  

I will, on rare occasions, spend a little time with the book's Bibliography section.  For the most part, however, I've a tendency to entirely skip; the Dedication page, the Table of Contents, the Forward, the Preface, the Introduction, the Index, the Appendix, and certainly the Acknowledgement page.

Maybe it's because Mr. Hipps called his acknowledgment page "Gratitudes". Or maybe it was because I was just into this self-help author.  Whatever the reason, I read the two pages of acclamations recognizing those adding value to the content and production of this manuscript.

There were specifically 16 individuals mentioned and a general nod to many others.

Since I never read this page, I have no frame of reference as to whether this is normal, excessive or stingy.  But, I realized that this publication might never have seen the light of day if not for many people.

It does not seem normal to feature the Acknowledgement page when discussing books.  Know that I'm certainly not taking anything away from the value of reading "Cats Don't Bark" by Shane Hipps.  As a matter of fact, I'm beginning my second time through as there's just too much to absorb in a single pass.

But here's the take-away and the reason for mentioning this typically ignored section.

Shane Hipps was fortunate that he had a community of people that were able to help him get his thoughts into my hands.  He relied on others and they made time for him.

I know people who are struggling in life.  I know people who have a very hard time getting over the speed-bumps of this world.

They usually have no one to help.  They're alone.  They take a step forward and get pushed back by their circumstances and situations.

There's no one to fill in the cracks, so they fall through.

There's no one to take up the slack, so they slide backwards.

There's no one to encourage, so they lose hope.

There's little success because they, like all of us, sometimes need a push to get over an obstacle.  If we're lucky enough to have someone behind us, we're able to get over the bump.  If we're not, the bump becomes an insurmountable mountain.

A simple challenge:  Find one person that needs you to be there.  Then, be there.

Philippians 2:4
Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

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By the way, don't be surprised if some of the "meat" of this book finds its way into future articles!

And one more thing; I wonder what might happen if everyone spent some time writing their own Gratitude Page.  Just sayin'...