In December, our friends invited my wife and I to a Christmas concert at their cabin in the woods. Somehow they had arranged for a prominent local artist to come play in their cozy living room for about 45 guests, and we were the happy recipients of an invite. This particular artist plays my wife’s favorite Christmas song, so it was an extra special treat for her.
The food and concert were great, as was the company. All in all, it was a fantastic way to start the Christmas season. The next morning my wife and I sent our friend a hand written thank you card with a small note from each of us. It didn’t take long to do, and we were truly appreciative of their invite to the amazing concert.
A few days later we received a text from them stating that they rarely receive thank you cards, and thanked us for thanking them. This couple is one of those couples who are always serving, helping and generally caring for humanity. It surprised me that they get less tokens of appreciation for all their efforts, as I thought our simple note would “go in the pile”.
It made me stop and think about expressing even more gratitude to those in my life who make both a large and small impact. As a Steward, we are always somewhere between the worst and the best we can be; hopefully leaning toward the best. This little interaction gave me a moment to deepen my commitment to both send more hand written cards, and to show more gratitude in general.
Perhaps this one little tweak in us all would help make the world a little nicer place for all of us to live. Looking for the good is a fantastic way to also overlook the weaknesses in us all.
