Un-Thanked People
(by Steve Goodier, publisher of "Your Life
Support System"
When William Stidger taught at Boston University, he once reflected upon the
great number of un-thanked people in his life. Those who had helped nurture
him, inspire him or who cared enough about him to leave a lasting impression.
One was a schoolteacher he'd not heard of in many years. But he remembered
that she had gone out of her way to put a love of verse in him, and Will had
loved poetry all his life. He wrote a letter of thanks to her.
The reply he received, written in the feeble scrawl of the aged, began, "My
dear Willie." He was delighted. Now over 50, bald and a professor, he didn't
think there was a person left in the world who would call him "Willie." Here
is that letter:
"My dear Willie,
I cannot tell you how much your note meant to me. I am in my eighties,
living alone in a small room, cooking my own meals, lonely and, like the
last leaf of autumn, lingering behind. You will be interested to know that I
taught school for 50 years and yours is the first note of appreciation I
ever received. It came on a blue-cold morning and it cheered me as nothing
has in many years."
Not prone to cry easily, Will wept over that note. She was one of the great
un-thanked people from Will’s past. You know them. We all do. The teacher
who made a difference. That coach we'll never forget. The music instructor
or Sunday school worker who helped us to believe in ourselves. That scout
leader who cared.
We all remember people who shaped our lives in various ways. People whose
influence changed us. Will Stidger found a way to show his appreciation --
he wrote them letters.
Who are some of the un-thanked people from your past? It may not be too late
to say, "Thanks."
"So then, just as you received Christ Jesus
as Lord, continue to live in
him, rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in
the faith as you were
taught, and overflowing with thankfulness."
Colossians 2:6-7 (NIV)
When passing this item on to others, please include the
following information:
Thank you!
