It's not like it's a new thought or idea. When Solomon states in Ecclesiastes that there is nothing new under the sun he spoke truth. There are no new thoughts, ideas, etc but there are expansions on what is already present. There are new twists to the present idea or thought. There are different or even new applications.
I have read Philippians 1:3 countless times. And countless is an understatement. It is one of the most overused verses in the Bible. So the temptation is to skim right by it in search of deeper truths. But, for whatever reason, this day I skidded to a halt on this verse.
I thank my God every time I remember you.
How many people do you think about each day? On average? The people you live with, the people you work with, and then who else? Maybe a handful more? And for the most part probably a different handful every day. I want to zero in on that handful. Chances are good that your interactions with those you live with communicate that you are thinking about them. And for your co-workers? Well that's a hit and miss I suppose but since you interact with them 5 days a week chances are decent that your communications with them indicate you have thought about them in some way as well (whether or not you are thankful is another story). But it's that handful. When they happen to run across your mind do you let them know?
Every so often I drink Lady Gray Tea. It's not my most favorite but every so often I get a craving for it. And when I do drink it I think of one person every time without fail. She and I are no longer friends. I suppose we are still acquaintances, but we don't have daily communication and haven't seen each other in about 4 years. But this tea makes me think of her. It so happened that the day after I had skidded to a halt on Philippians 1:3 I made myself some Lady Gray tea. And since it was so fresh in my mind I decided to act on thinking about her. So I emailed her. It was super short. I simply let her know I thought of her because of the tea I was having and I hoped she was well. That's it. No big conversations, no initiation of relationship, nothing but just letting her know she was thought of. It doesn't matter what she thought of my out-of-the-blue email, I just knew that somehow it made a difference for me. Maybe it did for her too.
Certain things - smells, sounds, music, foods - are triggers for me. I'm guessing they are for you too. And usually when a memory is triggered a person is part of that memory. Sometimes they are still in my life, other times not. With some people and the memories attached to them I don't feel so thankful. Sometimes I remember that I have also questioned God, not thanked him, for allowing that person to be part of my life at some point. Depending on how long ago the person was in my life I might still be questioning God today. *grin* Just being honest. But I do try to insert some thankfulness in there as well. I try to be objective and mature about the reasons why that person was in my life, their role in my own personal growth, and my role in the relationship I had with them. I search for the reasons why I can be thankful to God for them. And frankly, a lot of those reasons usually center on how not to behave in relationships, in how not to be in relationship to God, in how not to treat others. So I can be thankful for them, not for the positives but for the negatives because they served as a lesson for me in how not to be. So see? I can still be thankful to God for them when they cross my mind, which they do from time to time.
So all this has me thinking, what would change in our relationships if we did the following based on Philippians 1:3?
*Thanked God for the person who just ran across our mind (even if we don't personally like them!) and pray for them (people it counts with God if this all happens in a space of 30 seconds - you don't have to spend hours on this and when praying for someone you don't have to know what's going on with them - trust that God knows because he does).
*If possible, and appropriate, let them know you have thought about them. (Send a text, send a Facebook Inbox, send an email, dial their phone number and call them, drop a note by their workplace, knock on their door and give them a hug, you can see there are many ways to let people know they are being thought of.)
What could change in that person's life because of that?
What could change in our lives because of practicing that kind of contact?
What might change in relationships because of that small intentional reach out?
If you are like me then you think about someone at least once a day accompanied by the thought, "Oh I should fill in the blank them (call, text, etc)" and then the day continues and you get caught up in its flow and the thought occurs to you again about midnight when you need to be sleeping. And then you just never follow through. The thought was there but never acted on. And if you are like me perhaps you have shrugged your shoulders and said, "Oh well it's the thought that counts." Um. Not in this case actually. In this kind of situation the thought doesn't count because nobody but you knows you had the thought! So make the thought count, share it with the person you had it about. Take 30 seconds and communicate with them. Make the thought count.
I'm not good at making the thought count. There's my confession. I just spent the last few minutes telling *you* to do it when I myself kinda stink at it. But I promise I'm not being hypocritical, you want to know why? Because I'm not saying I am great at this and because I use posts like these to be a reminder to me of how I want to live my life. So really this whole post is for me and if *you* get something out of it then great! Also, sometimes I stink at this because of the season of life I am in. Sometimes my seasons wear me out and I'm just trying to get through the days. And sometimes my seasons are dark and when they are one of the first things to taper off in my life is my communication with others. These aren't excuses, just realities. And you have your realities as well. But even in the midst of our realities let's try to reach out in small but potentially meaningful ways.
Let's make the thought count.
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