Dear Friends,
The other day as I walked in the front door of my daughter and son in law’s home, I noticed a colorful sign that attracted my attention. It was created by my grandchildren, and it said, “For All Essential Workers, Please Help Yourself.” Underneath the sign was a plastic container with bottled water, canned soft drinks, popcorn, and pretzels. But what really caught my attention were the little mini packages of chocolate Oreo cookies, something I find almost impossible to resist.
At that moment I wondered to myself if I qualified as an “essential worker.” Does picking up my dog’s poop in the backyard, or planting a couple of flower gardens to beautify my children’s landscape, or occasionally washing dishes for my daughter, qualify me for “Essential Service” classification.
It didn’t long for me to decide. I quickly pocketed one of the packages of Oreo cookies and started to walk on upstairs. But there was one hurdle yet to avoid. It was my daughter, and she was standing right in the path to freedom and our upstairs apartment.
Do I tell her what I what I had just done, and beg forgiveness? Do I casually ask her if she thinks I qualify as an essential worker? Do I walk right by her as if nothing had happened? Or do I confess that her own dad cheated some postal employee or Fed Ex worker, out of what rightfully belonged to him/her?
You know the answer. I am a pastor, and how could I ever live with myself had I not done anything but openly confess my dishonest act to my daughter. Yes, I came clean, but only because I knew my daughter was the forgiving type. As I expected she said, Dad, “Enjoy the treats anytime, and she quickly walked on by.
This little episode caused me to think about a popular song from 1954 that topped the hit tunes charts for seven weeks and sold two million copies. For you trivia buffs it was sung by Kitty Kallen, and its title was “Little Things Mean a Lot.” Some of you old timers are probably humming the tune right now.
Yes, “ little things do mean a lot.” I thought a lot about the sign posted in our yard honoring front-line workers, proclaiming “You are our heroes.” I thought about all the little things Rachel and the children have been doing during their school time writing letters and thank you notes to people who have made a difference in their lives. I thought about John O’Neill, one of our friends from our church who regularly checks my car’s tire pressure and gives them a squirt of air when needed. And I remembered John’s wife, Teddie, who along with Julie Harris another church member, is always leaving their kitchen specials on our doorstep.
All of these got me to thinking about little things I might do to show my appreciation to others. As a result, I sat down and wrote letters of appreciation to all my doctors and trust me at my age they are many, so it took more than a few minutes.
The world would be a lot better place if those little “Random Acts of Kindness” we have performed would be expanded to include Random Acts of Appreciation as well.
I write all of this, to challenge you to find a way to say thanks to someone today. Would you let them know that you are grateful for their service, and the little things they do to make your life a little better. Trust me, you will be glad you did, and those you thank will be even gladder. And when you do this, would you e-mail me and let me know your “mission” has been accomplished.
And by the way, my life was blessed last week when one of the doctors I wrote called me to say thanks. It made my day.
Yours in faith and friendship,
Tom
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