By Grace Sweeney.
On my birthday this year, For whatever reason I wasn’t feeling very excited. I was tired and a bit annoyed with everyone and everything, for no specific reason. I was just in a bad mood.
But when I checked email that morning I saw a note from my best friend (Ann!), telling me how much our friendship means to her and wishing me an amazing day. I was honestly a little surprised. I hadn’t expected anyone outside of family to wish me a happy birthday, for some reason. It made me feel a lot better and a lot more cheerful. Her taking those few minutes to tell me happy birthday literally changed my day.
Later when I logged into my online writers’ community, I saw even more birthday wishes from friends. Some people had even put together a document full of birthday notes! I was absolutely floored. I had not expected that at all. Between Ann and those other friends, my grumpy day turned cheerful and exciting, all because each of them took just a minute to tell me happy birthday. It meant a lot to me, even though it was just a few words.
This month we’re studying thoughtfulness and that is a great example, I think, of how much meaning small things can have. A short word of encouragement via text or email doesn’t take long, but as I experienced, it can brighten someone’s day in enormous ways. A smile at someone in the grocery store can help that random person know that someone cared enough to smile at them. A joke or meme sent to a friend can make them laugh on a hard day. Asking how someone is feeling, such a small thing, can help someone. It only takes a few minutes to do each of those things, but they can impact people in big ways.
Sometimes I’ve neglected to smile at someone or give them a kind word, simply because I don’t know if it will matter. But trust me—it does matter. You might never know just how much it helped that person. If you don’t smile at them, they might continue through the day feeling alone and unloved. If you don’t send a funny joke to someone, they could just be “down in the dumps” for the rest of the day. You can do something to change that, and it’s so easy. We just have to do it.
After I wrote this article and Ann read it, she said, “I had no idea [saying happy birthday] meant so much to you! I guess that’s just proof of how we never know the impact things can have on a person.” She had no idea how important her little note was to me; how much it meant to me. Think about that for a moment. Couldn’t you send an encouraging email or make a phone call to a friend you haven’t talked to in a while? You never know how much it might touch them.
“And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works.” (Hebrews 10:24)
The Bible says that “whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them.” Wouldn’t you like someone to smile at you when you’re having a bad day? Or give you a hug at church or school to let you know you’re loved? I sure would.
In Psalm 8:3-5 it says, “When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.”
God is thoughtful. Have you ever thought of that? He does both big and little things to show how much He loves us. He gives us everything we need every day. He hears our prayers and gives us good gifts. He is so loving and thoughtful we can’t comprehend the level of love He has for us.
Ephesians 5:1 says, “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.”
Do we show even a small percentage of the thoughtfulness and kindness God shows to us? Most of the time, the answer is no. But we could be showing more.
Don’t let the thought of being as thoughtful as God overwhelm you though. Start with the small things. Start to think through the lens of “What could I do to make their day just a little better?” You don’t have to go and give hundreds of dollars to an organization or spend a whole day helping someone. You can do that, of course, but you can also just start with the small things.
I want to challenge you to practice this. Find five things today that are small and don’t take up much time, but that are truly thoughtful and do them for someone else. It may just be a hug or making your bed to help keep your room clean. It won’t take long, but it’ll mean a lot to those in your life. Also, keep an eye out for an article later this month on practical ways we can be thoughtful—you won’t want to miss it!
Now, go smile at somebody. :)
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