Whenever you cross my mind, I thank my God for you and for the gift of knowing you. Philippians 1:3
In Winston Pierces book A Window On the Mountain he remembers one of his high school reunions. As he and his former classmates sat and talked, they began to talk about things and people they were grateful for. One man said he was particularly thankful for Mrs. Wendt. She had introduced him to the beauty of poetry and developed his love for Tennyson. After sharing with someone what she had done for him, they suggested he write her a letter of appreciation. Since he didn’t know where to send it, he mailed it to his old high school and they forwarded it to her.
Much to his surprise about a month later he received this letter in return written in feeble longhand:
“My dear Willie, I can ’t tell you how much your letter meant to me. I am now in my nineties, living alone in a small room, cooking my own meals, lonely, and like the last leaf of fall lingering behind. You will be interested to know that I taught school for forty years and your is the first letter of appreciation I ever received. It came on a blue, cold morning and it cheered me as nothing has for years. Willie, you have made my day.”
How many times have we had that same thought to send a thank you note or thinking about you card? Perhaps it was to give someone a call on the phone, or maybe something as simple as a smile and a hello to someone who is passing us by. May we learn an important lesson from Willie, to go beyond intent and do it. He not only made Mrs. Wendt’s day but she probably reread and recalled that letter until the day she died. In who’s life could you leave such an impact?
Take this time to remember the love letter Jesus wrote to you on the cross.
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