(a 4 minute read) Kacey was pondering how to show gratitude and appreciation to Ashton upon leaving the company. You see Ashton has been such an encouragement to Kacey. Kacey had quite some years over Ashton, yet it was the young one that taught the older one much about life.

Kacey worked with Ashton at a car assembly factory. Kacey was the supervisor of the ‘Genius’ department. That’s what they called the area where a car was brought when it failed Quality Control (QC). Kacey’s team figured out the problems so that the car would pass QC and leave the factory. Kacey had to work on the tough tough cases.

It was clear to Kacey that Ashton, although young at age, stood out and was just a unique individual; One of those people that everyone felt at ease with, as well as proved to be kind, giving and loving. Ashton would definitely go out of the way to help others. Ashton was a mensch; a person of integrity and honor.

It so happened that Ashton ended up assisting Kacey on many of those tough QC problems. Ashton never shied from offering opinions. Kacey admired that so much. Every once in a while, when the problem was quite difficult to figure out, and Kacey was almost at the end of the line and about to give up, Ashton’s voice came across loud and clear,

“You got this!”

It wasn’t just the words but more so the way they came out. They exuded faith and overflowed with belief in the person they’re coming at.

Kacey would look up at Ashton, and Ashton with an affirming smile and an encouraging tone would repeat, “You got this.” Somehow, that would just bring peace to Kacey, and allowed the thought process to be disentangled and Kacey was able to have this new energy to rethink it through and arrive at the solution.

Kacey decided to write a letter of appreciation and thanks to Ashton. Although words could never convey the way Ashton’s encouragement meant, Kacey wanted to make sure that Ashton would continually offer such encouragement to all those that cross Ashton’s path, as it is a blessing beyond description. The letter included many of the sentences Ashton used like, “You got this”. Another one that always made Kacey’s heart smile was, “slow down kid”. In spite of the age difference, it came out of Ashton’s mouth indeed as if Kacey was the young one and Ashton was the old one. Kacey always thought, “One thing for sure, Ashton is the wiser one.”

Kacey was also hoping that the letter would encourage Ashton to use these sentences and this encouragement internally. The best thing is when one encourages oneself and believes in oneself, as that impacts others exponentially.

It was a bit later after Ashton had left the factory, that Kacey was facing quite a challenging problem, and was getting quite frustrated and does not know what to do. All of a sudden Kacey heard “Slow down kid….. You got this!”. The words were almost audible causing Kacey to look around for the source. Kacey could have sworn that Ashton was in the room, but there was no one there.

Kacey concluded that God allowed Ashton’s words to demonstrate that the Lord and Creator is always, always, always saying these words to us. We typically look for the Lord to point us in a certain direction and we feel that we’re not getting a clear signal. Meanwhile the Creator is sending the clearest signal of all as the Lord is always, always, always saying, “Slow down kid………. You got this ………… as I the Maker am always with you.”

Kacey concluded the letter saying, “I thank God for allowing my path cross yours Ashton. Thank you.”