Compliments come in all sizes and forms: genuine or insincere; solicited or spontaneous; or, an accolade meant to produce a smile.
I love the tongue-in-cheek truth in this one from Phyllis Diller: 鈥淵ou know you鈥檙e old when someone compliments you on your alligator shoes, and you鈥檙e barefoot.鈥�
Here鈥檚 another, this time from Cynthia Ozick: 鈥淲e often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude.鈥� And, I might add, the very people who most deserve our appreciation.
In my last article I wrote of the importance of counting things that are of greater importance than the difficulties we鈥檙e facing these past and coming months. This week, I鈥檝e been nearly overwhelmed with new blessings.
Although I neither anticipated nor solicited kind words, I am so grateful that they have flooded my heart, my ears and even my email, these past several days. Considering the source of these kind words, I believe they are genuine.
As I read and heard kind words, it motivated me to pick up my pen and hand-write words of thanks to those who work so hard to keep us safe. One card began like this: 鈥淭o nurses, doctors and every one who works in our hospitals and clinics 鈥︹�� Another, 鈥淭hank you to our firefighters who protect us 鈥︹�� and yet another, 鈥渢hank you to our ambulance service, you are such a gift to our community 鈥� .鈥� There were and will be others but you get the idea.
Although I have no idea of who or how many people read these weekly articles, please accept my genuine thanks and appreciation. It鈥檚 for you that I鈥檝e done this for the past 23 years.
鈥淭hey stayed several days聽and then Judas and Silas returned to Jerusalem taking greetings and appreciation to those who had sent them.鈥滱cts 15:33 (TLB)
Who can you thank this week?
