The Art of Thank You
Yesterday I received a precious “thank you” card in the mail from my friend Shannon. It was a sweet little card featuring pictures of her and her husband and their two newly adopted precious little boys. The inside included a scripture and printed thank you, but at the top, scribbled in her hand-writing, she began her thank with a quick apology for taking a bit long to get a thank you card to me for supporting their adoption.
The first thing I thought when I opened that card… well the second thing really, because the first thing I did was ooh and goo over the pictures of these sweet babies… was how amazing she was for even sending a thank you! And not only did she send a thank you, but she had created these beautiful little cards, printed them and then still proceeded to write me a personal note. She did all of that while trying to welcome two little boys into her home!
Her thank you was sincere. It took sacrifice and intentionality. And for that, it was so special.
There is an art to saying “thank you”. I have several friends that do this well and I watch and learn from them every chance I get.
My friend Susannah always sends hand written thank yous upon receiving any gift. Seriously, it’s like clock work. I can just about predict when a note from Sus will hit my mailbox. She says that her momma instilled this value into her… either way, I know it’s a big part of her heart and I’m always moved by it.
The amazing Mary Graham has an unbelievable way of speaking thank yous to others. I was amazed at this when I attended a Women of Faith event last month. After every speaker, Mary takes a moment to look them in the eye and thank them for how they encouraged us, challenged us and inspired us. Her ability to look into your soul and say thank you is one of the most beautiful things I’ve seen.
There truly is an art to a well-done thank you. It’s not the time. It’s not the how. It’s more about the heart.
Do you know someone who says thank you well? Share their story with us!
(Btw, I noticed that all my examples were women. There have got to be some good stories about guys who do this well too.)
Thank you so much for this encouragement. Getting a thank you note means the world, even if they’ve already said thank you. It takes time and sacrifice so I appreciate you taking the time to blog about it! Blessings! Cindy Mundt
Thanks Cindy! You’re right… saying thank you never gets old.
well, and i will thank you AGAIN for such kind words, jenni! 🙂 we should ALWAYS be thankful, and we should ALWAYS remember to thank others for any little thing, i believe. whether with a hug, with verbal words or even a written note, it is important. LOVE YOU, JC! THANK YOU! 🙂
You’re the best at this Sus… just one of the reasons I love yah!
I’m horrible at saying Thank You. It isn’t that I’m not grateful. It’s usually the opposite: I’m so thankful that I don’t know how to adequately express my thanks. So I give up on it, and I don’t even try.
Horrible, right?
I’m trying to change that terrible habit. I’m trying to take the time to say Thank You, even if I don’t feel like it’s enough. It’s better than nothing.
Lindsay, I sooooo understand! Sometimes I don’t feel like my thank you is adequate enough and then I don’t do anything at all. Ugh!
I’ve read this after just writing several thank you cards for my son’s first birthday gifts! So I’m trying not to feel too proud of myself!
I think having a grateful and thankful heart and attitude is so important. And taking the time to thank others is valuable too. So, while I wasn’t brought up sending thank you cards, I am trying to build it into my life and I hope to inspire and encourage my son to do the same.
And an example for/of the guys…my husband leaves me little thank you post its when he wants to say thanks and encourage me!
Good for your Lindsay! And yea for your husband for being so thoughtful. I knew there had to be a guy out there who was good at this 🙂
I work with some amazing people, and thank you cards are part of our culture. You never know when you could walk into your office and on your desk could be a perfectly written “thank-you” note. Not perfect because it is grammatically correct, or anything like that…but because they write their heart on it. My boss, and pastor, has the amazing ability of writing like that. In just a few short sentences He brings to life exactly how he feels about the job you do, and how much you mean to him and his family. His wife does the same thing. Because they do this, it has filtered down into the rest of the staff and created a culture of thankfulness and sincere appreciation for those that we are blessed to serve alongside with.
thank you for reminding me of how important it is to take the time to stop, even when you’re busy with “good” things, and just say “thank you”. It changes everything!…Oh, and thank you Jenni for letting us be a part of your world and sharing your heart with us through this blog. You inspire and challenge me all at the same time!
My husband Ben is the perfect male example for you. He and I were both raised knowing the importance of thank you notes. Our kids are learning it from both of us, our son knows that it is not just women who write thank you notes. My parents and my husbands parents send our kids thank you notes too. So the examples go up and down. I wish more people would write them. I love mail!
So, I loved your text, unfortunately, there are people who do not know how to thank and receive a thank you, I always thank my friends and readers of my blog, but one person complained that I’m always thanking, not by obligation, but because is something that comes from the essence of the person, something that comes from the birthplace of person, as I always say. I’m upset. Because I have this education and affection for people and so I must have been misunderstood. But I always thank you for everything, thanks for your text. Kisses