You LIght Up My Life!

       I received the best gift some days ago; someone sent me a wonderful and sincere thank you note.  In the midst of a very hard week, it came unexpectedly in the mail.  It means a lot to me; not only did someone appreciate what I've done, but also they took the extra time and effort to reach out and express that to me.  It is so rare these days to receive something personal in the mail that is neither a bill nor junk.
       In our hurry and rush world, such things are becoming a lost art.  Even writing a check to pay for a purchase is seen as an imposition and waste of other people's valuable time these days.  Even talking is in danger of becoming old-fashioned.  I went out to dinner a couple of months ago and at one point, everyone else was texting away on their phones.  In such an environment, it is no wonder that manners are declining.
        Going by the frequency of complaints in advice columns, saying and writing thank-you is one of the social graces that is being neglected.  Most of the complaints treat the thank-you as a tit-for-tat exchange that almost requires retaliation.  The gift must be followed by a thank-you or there will be no more gifts.  Much of the language often talks about it in terms of what is "owed". To me, such exchanges have lost the qualities of grace and of caring that are freely shared.
        The thank-you that I received the other day was not like that at all.  It was not for a gift I had given or personal favor performed.  It was not a thank-you that I was "owed".
        We all need more "thank-you"s in our lives. It's not good enough to relegate it to formal responses to certain gifts.  And while I love celebrating Thanksgiving Day and all it stands for, giving thanks is too important to be reserved for just one day, once a year.  Gratitude balances out our lives and improves our quality of life.
       We need to recapture the art of being grateful for the people in our lives not just for what they can give or do for us but just for being in our lives and being themselves.  Throughout his letters in the New Testament, Paul declares gratitude for the people he writes to and the people he works with.  He rightly credits them as gifts from God.
       Paul writes from the perspective of a life that is not easy.  Away from home, often persecuted or in prison and sometimes lacking even for his winter coat, yet he finds strength, hope, and comfort in the community of the church; the saints, those that like him who also believe in Jesus Christ.  He is not grateful because his life is wonderful and easy but rather he finds his life wonderful because of the people of faith surrounding him.
       Who is a gift in your life?  Often they may not even be aware that they have touched our hearts but their smiles, friendship, encouragement, joy, or presence make our lives richer.  Take the time to show gratitude to those around you.  Perhaps even make a bit of a game out of it and seek a way to make it an unexpected or even anonymous gift of thanks.  You may never know, but your unexpected encouragement may shine the light of love that gives new hope and new life.  Read Philippians 1: 3-11