As I’ve mentioned before, I’ve been blessed with great mentors.
One of those mentors, Ken Blanchard (co-author of the business classic, The One Minute Manager), is a very gifted communicator who conveys important information in a straightforward, easily understandable manner.
Years ago when we were talking about the brevity of life, Ken reminded me that things can change on a dime, so we must “keep our ‘I Love You’s’ up to date.” A couple of years later, I asked Ken if I could modify that statement to include “Thank You’s.” He approved and thought that that would be a good idea.
I bring all this up because of an article about Emerson Weber, an 11-year old from Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Emerson has a hobby. She writes letters—lots of letters. Last spring, she wrote a letter to her mail carrier: “I wanted to say thank you for taking my letters and delivering them. You are very important to me.”
That mail carrier, Doug, shared the letter with some of his USPS associates, who like many of us, have had a tough go of it during the pandemic. The response went viral and ultimately, after several of Doug’s coworkers wrote her back and thanked her for her letter of thanks, the letter was featured in the USPS internal newsletter.
But it gets even better.
Emerson’s dad decided to post what happened on Twitter as a way of expressing his appreciation for the outpouring of love. He added: “It is relatively easy, if we take the time, to give others the one thing they need to be well—human connection. I have a friend who says we all just want to be seen, known, and loved. Em does this boldly.” And one of the postal workers agreed: “…people felt seen—some for the first time in a long time.”
This story resonated with me because I have been fortunate to give numerous talks to thousands of people over the years. Whether it’s presentations to university students, individuals at conferences, corporate occasions or ministry events, we all share one thing in common: Everyone could benefit from a little bit more love, and a whole bunch more appreciation and affirmation.
How do I know this? Because during many of my presentations, I ask the audience to raise their hand if they have too many people in their life who are telling them how much they are loved and appreciated. In other words, they know that they are seen and loved as the person God made them to be.
In all the years that I’ve asked this question, I have yet to have a single person raise their hand. Perhaps it’s because they are too shy or simply think that I’m joking because of some of the ways I set up the question. But truth be told, I don’t ask this question to get some laughs. I ask it because it highlights the benefits of having an “Attitude of Gratitude” and letting others know that we appreciate them.
I have a question for you: “Are there people on your Thank You list that would love to hear from you?” Personally, after reading this story, I can do a better job of saying “thank you” to people who impacted my life, or have done things on my behalf.
In the Gospel of John, we are reminded to “Love One Another.” In these politically challenging times where 50% of the country is on one side of the aisle, and 50% is on the other side of the aisle, loving others may seem like a bit of a stretch.
Maybe the first step in this process can be achieved by following Emerson’s example. Perhaps over the next couple of days or weeks we can be intentional in taking the time to reach out and say “thank you” to those who may feel forgotten and long to be seen.
So I would like to close this note the same way I close many of my presentations. I ask everybody to pick a partner, grab their hands, look them in the eyes, and tell them: “I love you!”
In that spirit, have a great weekend, and remember to let those around you know…“I love you!”
Mike
P.S. And thank you to those of you who take the time to read and/or share these Words of Encouragement, and send me your kind comments.
