Find A Lot With Thanks And Giving

Have you ever felt unappreciated?

I have. Many years ago, I had demonstrated a particular skill for saving customer relationships. Consequently, a peer in Marketing asked me to train and implement a program company-wide to restore customers who were in danger of ending our service. With little input from him, my team delivered and made the company A LOT of money. I didn’t think much of the fact that my colleague reported all of the progress to senior management.

Then, I got a lesson in life.  He won a public thank you from the company president and a BIG promotion. I tried not to feel differently after that, but I couldn’t help it. Not just about him. But about the company, too. Oh, I earned my money; I gave them a good day’s work and more, but my heart wasn’t in it in the same way. I began to notice that while I thanked my good, good team regularly, I rarely received a thank you for anything. Eventually, I put in my two-week notice for a better situation elsewhere and was genuinely surprised when my boss and his boss met with me to counter offer. I didn’t stay.

Why is it so important to express appreciation?

I watched Andy Stanley, Pastor of Northpoint Church in Atlanta, recently, and he explained it this way. You really should listen to it! You might think that I didn’t need to be thanked because I got a paycheck, right? However, gratitude not expressed feels like ingratitude. And no one gets where they are without others. Being able to understand and say that you didn’t get there by yourself shows your maturity. Expressing gratitude strengthens every relationship. 

Who in your life needs to hear thanks from you this week? How about the people inside your home? Just pick something and get started right now!

This week is the perfect time to express gratefulness to your friends and family you don’t see every day! If it can’t be in person, FaceTime works. Or your pen. The telephone is always right.  Developing this habit does work inside a family and us.

Look, I don’t feel too badly about not liking what happened to me. It happened to Jesus, and he was none too happy. He healed ten people who had leprosy after they called to him for mercy. Leprosy is an infectious disease that causes severe, disfiguring skin sores and nerve damage in the arms, legs, and skin areas around your body. It’s been around since ancient times, and back then, if you had it, you were not welcome anywhere. You couldn’t work, be with your family, and were an outcast! Jesus told them to present themselves to the priests; they were healed while on the journey. Then…

“One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice.  He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan.

Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine?” Luke 17: 15-17

I want to be that guy.

During this season of thankfulness, let’s make it our focus to thank Jesus.  And everybody else.

Sometimes it’s hard to feel thankful when we’re not happy. I know a little something about that. We all do. I wrote about its elusiveness, but how it is possible to find. See what you think.

 

Post worth reading:

The Generous Husband | Give Thanks