The Thank-You Card That Arrived Before the Gift Was Delivered

Most of these thoughts were first written down in the summer of 2017. Initially, I planned to submit it for publication but for some reason never did. For a worrier like me, the resolution, in bold and underscored, emerged as a watchword for 2019 for me.

            A former student and his fiancée, the daughter of a former teaching colleague, invited me to their wedding reception. Another former student hosted a kitchen shower with items chosen by the happy couple. Since I had missed the kitchen shower, I ordered a mixing bowl set for them the easiest way, online. The bride told me the former student who had hosted the party had told her new husband and her that I had gotten the mixing bowls for them since the bowls would arrived after the reception. No problem – the newlyweds weren’t in their house yet. The groom was enjoying eating the delicious cooking of his mother-in-law until they moved into their home so I wasn’t in a hurry to get the gift to them!

What a surprise when I received a gracious, handwritten thank-you card from them! They were grateful for a gift they had not received but anticipated getting. They believed the gift was coming because they felt I was truthful and reliable.

As I closed the thank-you card, I thought how seldom I am like this precious couple. Seldom do I thank God for what He is going to provide before I receive it from Him, even though I know how trustworthy He is.

The bride and groom knew my love for them and that my word was reliable. If they could trust me, a fallible human, how much more can we trust our heavenly Father who keeps His promises to us and gives us every good gift, assuring us of having all we need to perfectly live His plan for our lives. A thankful heart is the most fertile soil for receiving God’s abundancy of gifts.

One of my favorite verses continues to be the most profound instruction for the chronic worrier written by the Apostle Paul. In his letter to the Christians at Philippi, Paul wrote these words from Philippians 4:6:

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, 

with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.

My focus has always been on the first two phrases because I have battled the sin of worry from the time I was saved at age 8. My predisposition to stress and fretting has nettled me most of my life.

Yet upon reading the thank-you note, I concentrated on the last part of Philippians 4:6. The prepositional phrase “with thanksgiving” sets the tone for prayer. The attitude of a petitioner coming before the Lord must be one full of gratitude to Him. Only with this foundational mindset should requests be presented to our Heavenly Father.

Maybe this year our resolution should be to approach the Lord in prayer with a thankful heart every time we ask for anything. After all, only He is reliable in giving us exactly what we need.

Note: Often when I write for publication, I do not use the names of people who inspire my writing. I decided to use photos to reveal the two students I mentioned. 
      The photo to the left is of Scott Brown, one of my third grade students in 1994 -1995, and Amy Mashburn Brown. Amy's connection to the Big Bend reaches back to her great-grandparents, Monty and Dessie Armstrong Martin. Scott and Amy are the couple mentioned above who sent the thank-you card before I had even delivered the gift!
      The photo to the right is Chelsea Pease Engle, a third grader in 1990-1991 in my classroom, our first year as Woodland School District. Chelsea was the Pampered Chef representative who hosted the shower for Amy and Scott and told them before my gift arrived so they knew the mixing bowl set was on the way. 
      So many of my former students, who I now consider friends, give me reason to be hopeful for our community's future.