My fellow readers and viewers, we should NEVER stop showing our appreciation to people who have been there for us through thick and thin. Being grateful and expressing gratitude for things done for us should be exercised every single time. Not only am I grateful for the Lord but I am grateful for the people I come across throughout my physical existence.
For those who know me, I will always genuinely express my thankfulness because I know that they didn’t have to do what they did for me. They were not entitled nor forced to assist me the way they did. They didn’t have to go above and beyond for me and could’ve easily said “no.” To anyone who has shown me the least bit of kindness, they will surely know how much it means to me in FULL.
Being grateful is priceless. It’s an emotion that is brought out when people go above expectations for us. Even paying attention to minor details that could’ve easily been missed is thoughtful.
Whether they are on the road and are going out of their way to buy us food or they willingly offered to help us complete a stressful project, we must remember that these are voluntary acts. They are not obligated to do anything unless they choose to. So when they do make that decision to stick around for us, we must let them know how much that means to us.
Being self centered and thinking that people must bow down to us is a mindset that will discourage others from even talking to us. Thinking that it is a privilege to be in their presence…. The Lord will humble those who exalt themselves over those who are not as well off as they are. We are no better than the next person. That is a fact. We just sin in different ways but that does not make us above anyone. We ALL have fallen SHORT with God so our Sinful Nature will not go anywhere unless it is handled accordingly.
Story Time
I remember not too long ago, I accidentally left my phone on the airplane on my way back to California. My family and I spent a month in Nigeria to visit our relatives (we haven’t seen them in over 15 years)! We travelled around the middle of December of 2019. Fast forward – We had to catch a flight back home around the middle of January of this year but it was going to take around 24 hours (more or less) to get back to SoCal. On the first flight, I wasn’t feeling well and I didn’t pull out my phone ONCE.
As we left that airplane, we walked a good 10 minutes away from where we initially got off. My mom realized my phone was not in my back pocket. I stopped and checked all over and she was right! I ran back, retracing my steps… my mom followed after.
The security guards stopped me and said that it was too late to aboard the plane because it already left. I tried to tell them what happened – to no avail. Frustrated and heartbroken, I didn’t know what to do. We were in a foreign place (Germany) and I didn’t know where to start in retrieving my lost device.
On my next two flights back to California, I prayed soooooooo much and hard for the good Lord to have whoever come across my phone, to return it to the rightful authorities. Before then, I had to file a report about my missing beloved device (I wasn’t to sure how successful this filing would be though).
This phone has EVERYTHING when it comes to my life. From all my passwords to my accounts, pictures, videos, music, academic assignments, etc. Starting over would’ve been disastrous. My anxiety for the next two flights back home was soul crushing. I was shaking uncontrollably and my body was abnormally hot from head to toe. My excessive silent cries gave little comfort but overall, I was a wreck.
“What ifs” kept running through my mind. Having someone illegally access my phone and steal personal and identifiable information about me was all I can think of. Thinking about my phone never being returned to me was a constant negative thought that I tried to drown out by forcing myself to sleep.
What got me the most was how careless I was…. Why didn’t I check my area after I left the first flight? Regardless if I wasn’t feeling well, how can I be so irresponsible?
Long story short, a nice cleaning person found my phone!! An email was sent to me, informing me that they recovered a device that matches the description I put down on the form. (I logged into my email through my mom’s phone to keep myself updated about what was going on). The authorities listed the necessary steps I needed to follow in order to safely get it back. However, they could not fly my phone back to me because it has a lithium battery in it. Meaning – it has the possibility of exploding mid air and they were not authorized to send it by plane. So I had two options – as soon as I arrive to California, I had to send UPS to internationally pick up my device or travel back to Germany and look for this office to pick it up myself. (My mom was highly against the latter because I could easily get lost).
So when I returned to California, I was not myself. Although I was excited my phone was found, getting it back was the issue. I don’t know anything about filling out information for UPS to get my phone back from Germany. The application was extremely difficult and I just knew I was filling it out wrong. Not to mention, a new semester was already in session when I came back so I missed the first day. Going to school wasn’t making anything easier because everyone was on their phone laughing and taking pictures while I’m trying to figure out the next step I should take in getting mine back.
Fast forward – my Dad was scheduled to come back home to California a week after us. Meaning, he stayed behind to make some last minute arrangements while the rest of my immediate family (mom and siblings) left a few days earlier before he did. It was already day 6 without my phone and my mom offered a brilliant suggestion! She informed me that my Dad will be traveling the same route that we did so why not tell him to stop by this office to see if he can pick up the phone for me. I ran it by my Dad to see if he would be okay with doing that and he was!
I knew I had to make sure to get precise instructions on how to find this office so my dad will not miss his flight. The authorities were moderately helpful and I sent back/translated what needed to be done with my Dad. As my dad was talking to my mom on the phone, my mom was texting me what was going on in Germany. My Mom told me that the authorities were giving my Dad a tough time and they wouldn’t give my phone to him! I was thinking why not! You can imagine the emotional turmoil I was going through. I started praying so bad for the Lord to make this exchange go smooth and fast as possible but the things my Mom was telling me was making me lose hope altogether.
Supposedly the authorities were uncertain if my Dad was in fact my Dad. Come to find out, my Dad was just playing around and he was in and out of there within 5 minutes! He also had my Mom fooled that I was not getting it back. I was sooooo relieved nevertheless because he made it back to his flight on time with lots of time to spare. Why did he have to play with my emotions like that? The world may never know!
Reunited with my phone was a great blessing from the Lord. The way everything worked out in the end, led me to believe the Lord purposely postponed my father’s trip so he can pick up my lost phone. The Lord knew of my careless ways. Moreover, finding alternatives to retrieve my phone was proving to be futile.
Although my anxiety was severe, I am blessed to have my buddy back! To express my gratitude to my dad for going out of his way to get my phone, I gave him $100 in SINGLES. His efforts were not taken lightly and I had to reward him. Even though it took only 5 minutes because the authorities had to verify that he was indeed my father, anything could’ve happened. Everything worked out in a strategic manner – thanks to the Lord.
Favors
However, we must not confuse being grateful with favors. I’ll explain.
When people say, “If I do this, you owe me for this and that.” That is not genuine. Or when people only go out of their way because they want something from you to begin with. It is hard to feel grateful for so and so because they were only committed to help based off of them receiving incentives. When the motive is to obtain a reward from the beginning, the assistance is not sincere.
Unfortunately, we will come across people who are set up that way. It’s unavoidable. On top of that, they might be the only people who CAN help so we have no choice but to accept their help. It’s a trade-off but there’s no other option. It happens. But, we must identify those kind of people in our lives and limit our interaction with them.
Surrounding ourselves with people who want to help because they know how is a must. In that way, it becomes easier to really see how blessed we are to have them in our lives. Moreover, we have to make it a habit in letting these people know that they are cherished and appreciated… before it’s too late.
Never allow your ego to block you from expressing admiration for someone’s sacrifice for you. That is not fair to you or them. People deserve to know that they’re wanted and acknowledged. You know why?
Because the same people who are breaking their backs to keep us happy are the same ones suffering internally with their mental and emotional state. They do not want to see people sad because they know how it feels like to be down. They are trying to protect us from feeling like that so the LEAST we can do is shower them with love and thanks. We never know who might need that kind of encouragement so it is important to verbally express how we feel. It can also be expressed materialistically – whatever works. Bottom line: People need to know that we see them.
The way I show my gratitude to the Lord is by praising Him for all the good He’s done in my life and in the lives of those I love. Heck, He’s the reason why I started this blog in the first place. My gratitude for Him is undeniable. My gratitude for those who assisted me in ANY way is undeniable.
I pride myself on making sure everyone is recognized and praised for their kindness. The world is a cruel place. Some people will walk out on us when we’re going through our toughest battles. So for those who stick around for all of that ugliness, are the ones we need to be grateful for. Point blank period.
My friends, we should be eager to shower people with love. Even strangers. Just saying a simple hi to someone will change their mood. We never know what others are going through so a simple smile goes a long way. Trust me, they’re grateful that we were kind enough to smile at them. There are people who feel invisible so when we initiate small conversations with them, they’re ecstatic inside. They feel like they matter and they do!
People should always feel like they matter and that people find them intriguing. We each have a story to tell.
Thanks for reading and God bless. To conclude, you may leave questions, comments and/or suggestions if you so choose.
