We attended the funeral yesterday of an old friend, and in the course of preparing a short appreciation of him for the service, Mark, my husband, got out some old photos of holidays and times shared together, and we fell to reminiscing about our friendship of some 40 years.
We had always enjoyed and valued our friendship but as we looked back, with the benefit of hindsight we realised what a truly precious thing that friendship had been in our lives. It made me wish that I had been more grateful at the time for that friendship, more intentional in my thanks to God for having them in my life, and also more appreciative to the persons themselves.
Have you ever noticed that we often only fully appreciate something or someone after it, or they, have gone or we have moved on ourselves. This can be true of so many things in life. A job, an aspect of our health, a church, friends, family members, even our house or location. In many ways the covid pandemic has highlighted this for us, as familiar things have been shut down or taken away.
I think now, that being thankful at the time and in the moment is the answer to our growth in appreciation of someone or something. It can work like the unwrapping of a parcel in the childrens party game ‘pass the parcel’. As we give thanks for one thing another layer is unwrapped and something else surfaces that we want to be thankful for.
For example, a friend does you a favour or helps you out. You can say thanks and move on quickly or you can ‘unwrap’ it a bit further. As you thank them for the help they have given, you realise there is a kindness here to thank God for. Then it ‘dawns’ on you that this kindness has cost this person (time or money or both). You realise they are generous too. As you thank God for that, you see another layer of blessing , God has given you a brother or sister who cares about you enough to serve you in this thing, and before you know it the value you place on that person and the friendship has grown.
Giving thanks to the person and to God for that person, stops you from taking what is there in your life for granted. Even more it stops us from slipping into entitlement and a sense that we have a right in life to all the good things and good people God sends our way.
Thanksgiving keeps us from ruminating on the negatives of a situation, or the flaws in a persons life. Giving thanks enables us to savour the good in both things and people, to grow in our appreciation, and as a side issue we become a nicer person to be around!!
Paul so often started his letters with thanks to God for his friends in the different places he had ministered, the most notable to me is the phrase in 1 Philippians 1 : 3,4 ‘I thank my God for every remembrance of you, always offering prayer with joy….’NAS.
That must have so warmed their hearts, not just that he prayed for them but that He was able to thank God for them. Spend some time today thanking God for the people in your life, and let the Holy Spirit unwrap for you the treasures in those people that you may be taking for granted. It could become an important part of your everyday life.
