The Power of Thank You

Last week I was asked to speak at the President's Inaugural Delegate Luncheon at Mississippi College as they installed their 20th President, Dr. Blake Thompson. Being an MC alum, of course I said YES to the invitation!

While lunch was being served, I told my friend Beth that I wanted to walk around the banquet room and speak to people I once knew in my years as a student there. One of the people I spotted at a table was Dr. Bettye Coward.

Most MC students had Dr. Coward for Child Psychology. It was one of the "core" classes that nearly everyone HAD to take no matter their major. I pulled a chair next to her and sat down. I introduced myself to Dr. Coward and told her I wasn't sure if she remembered me, but I took two classes from her in my years at MC: Child Psychology and Family Life. She put her fork down and smiled back at me.

"Of course I remember you, Barbie!" she said.

"Well, I just want to say thank you for being such a powerful voice in my life years ago," I told her. "You made those classes interesting and you were always so very, very kind. I've never forgotten that about you."

She smiled and we exchanged a few more pleasantries as to where she's living now and how wonderful retirement has been for her.

I left to go back to my seat to be ready for my part in the program. Afterwards, I was standing around talking with several college friends when Dr. Coward walked up to me. She grabbed my hand and looked me in the eye.

"I just wanted to say thank you for coming to speak to me," she said. "Those my age and at this stage in their life could use some acknowledgement in knowing we made a difference in someone else's life."

Proverbs 25:11 says, "A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver." Another translation says, "Like golden apples in silver settings, so is a word spoken at the right time."

As I sat in my car driving away from campus, it made me think about her words. How many times have I been guilty of assuming someone knows how much they mean to me or the influence they've had on my life? The answer is too many times I'm afraid. What encouragement we could be to someone today if we just took one minute out of our schedule to send them a note, a call, or a spoken word of thanks for how they treated us in the past or a sweet memory we have of them. Telling those who have influenced you NOW brings a sense of fulfillment to their heart and may spur them on to continue blessing others in the same way they blessed you. The right words may refresh, but no words are as effective as thank you.

I may never see Dr. Coward again this side of heaven, but I could tell she still wanted to feel like she "mattered" to someone else, even in retirement.

Excuse me now as I have my marching orders for today!