Did you say, Thank You?

When was the last time you said Thank You to someone and really meant it? Now I don’t mean just as a habitual response because it’s the right thing to do. I mean looking them in the eye and say “Thank You”. Those are some really powerful words when shared from the heart.

The events of November 26, 2008 here in Soldotna have impacted our community in a way I don’t think any of us could have imagined. It has caused many of us to think a little deeper than we would have before that day. I mean who would have ever imagined an event like this would have happened here in our “little town”. Yet here we are in January 2009 thinking like perhaps many of us have never thought. I understand that we have all been impacted significantly different and no two of us are the same. I still think we are all to one degree or another moved to reflect on life a little deeper.

How we allow those thoughts and the impact they have on us is to a great degree our own decision. We will make that decision consciously or subconsciously. We can choose to use them for the positive side and begin to work on becoming a more loving and caring person or we can allow them to cause us to turn inward to self pity and despondency. The choice is ours.

The first choice must be made consciously. If we want to allow these events to help us become a better person we must make some very conscious choices. Choices like talking about our feelings even if we don’t feel like it, telling those we care about that we love them and yes saying Thank You to those we love and even those we don’t. I know it may seem unimportant but I beg to differ. I want to challenge you to “think” about your life and the choices you make through out the next few months.

The second choice will be made unconsciously if you don’t make the first one. Remember water flows down hill, it must be “pumped” up hill. If you just let it all go and try to forget about it, you won’t. It will grow and fester down underneath the skin of your heart and eventually you will have heart trouble! Instead of becoming a better person by choice you will become a bitter person by no choice. Think about it, please!

I know this whole Thank You idea may be no big deal but we have to start somewhere, don’t we? I challenge you to start with you spouse, if you have one, and then to your children, if you have any. Let it spread to the grocery store, the coffee shop and the bank teller. Here’s a thought, take it to work with you. Thank your boss or your employees. Have you ever thought how we would ever get all the work done with out each other? We really do need each other!

I know it may be a little tough on some of us but why not give it a try? What could it hurt? Who knows you might like it and they might even like you a little better. It might feel so good you may start to use the other magic word, Please!!!!!!!

Just a thought,

Pastor Alan