Being Thankful

"And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving
one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven
you." (Ephesians 4:32) "...and be ye thankful." (Colossians 3:15)

One thing my mother drilled into my brother and me growing up was making sure we always wrote our thank you notes every time after we received a gift. Thank you notes were mandatory! At the time, it sure was a drudgery; though I do admit having a positive feeling after all the thank you notes were done and in the stack to mail. Today I see the great value (thanks, Mom!) of that training and am training my own two children to do the same. Sure, one child cannot write and the other barely, but they draw pictures, write what letters and words they can, and the thank you note is done. It shows whoever took the time to pick out their card and/or gift that they are appreciated. It is a person returning the kindness of another. Now, how can you go wrong with that??

There sure aren't many people who are thankful anymore, and it takes such little effort to make a great positive impact. It doesn't take much time and is always worth the effort to be thankful--a simple smile and a "thank you" to someone at the cash register; a quick note to someone who did something nice for you; or perhaps a little gift to show someone your appreciation for their faithful work.

We had a long, snowy, cold, miserable winter here in Wisconsin this past year; yet, our mail carrier was there faithfully every day up and over country roads (which were rarely plowed until hours after the storm) delivering our mail. I can hear it now..."But he/she is PAID to deliver your mail--that is the mail carrier's job!" That is TRUE...but...how could it possibly hurt to thank our carrier for faithful delivery on all of those wintry days? And thank our carrier we will! We bought a candy bar, the kids are in the process of drawing pictures, and we will jot a quick note just to be kind and thankful and hopefully put a spring in the step and smile on the face of our mail carrier.

Now, how about you? Who can you show thankfulness and kindness to today?