The Thank You Letter

Thank You Letter

People may go to their grave never knowing what a difference they made in your life. If someone had an impact on your life let them know today.

A few years ago a study was done that looked at business professionals and the top things they needed to be successful. To my surprise after reading the article I learnt that the #1 thing they needed was not money, promotions or even raises. Although those items definitely made the list, it turned out that the #1 commodity that most people needed was appreciation. Appreciation is simply the recognition and enjoyment of the good qualities of someone or something.

Think about that for a second. Has anyone in your life ever did something for you that made a difference. Maybe it was a mentor that took you under her wing in your first career or perhaps a family member that stuck by you through the hard times. You know I really believe that we take things for granted sometimes. I don’t think we mean to. We just kind of get busy with life that we don’t stop to thank the people that made a difference.

One evening I had the opportunity to speak with my junior high school teacher (Mr. Sim Courville) after a funeral of someone we both knew. Although funerals are sad they tend to make you think about your own life and all the things you have to be grateful for . I’ll never forget this conversation as long as I live. By that time I had been through a lot of ups and downs and struggles with life. I remember in the 8th grade, however, life was really easy. And just like any good teacher would  do Mr. Sim would instill discipline, integrity and knowledge in our little undeveloped minds. Now when you’re 13-years-old you don't really appreciate those qualities. And it's not until you have to use them that you look back and appreciate all the hard work your predecessors did to help you grow.

Well on that rainy day I told Mr Sim what a difference he made in my life. It was a very emotional moment for both of us. While wiping his tears from his eyes he muttered the words "Beau, you don’t know how much those words mean to me." To this day I don't know if he was happy that I turned my life around or the fact that his dedication and hard work had paid off. I guess it was a little of both.

Nevertheless when we tell someone how much they mean to us something happens. It often times can rekindle a relationship or just give the person a sense of purpose knowing that they did something that made a difference in someone's life.

Today’s Action Step:

Today I want you to call or write at least one person who made a difference in your life. Perhaps it’s someone who you don’t really communicate with anymore or someone who you never really took the time to thank for all the hard work they did. Now the reason that I called this devotional Thank You Letter is because I want  you to write a letter if you can. Imagine the surprise they will have of getting a letter in the mail. You see when you write a letter to someone it means a lot. You have to get an envelope, buy a stamp, and actually sit down and take time to write from your heart. It’s a little different than sending a text or just clicking the like button to show your appreciation on a post. So go now! write your thank you letter and let someone know how much you care for them when they cared so much for you.