It’s not enough to simply say, thank you. I wish there were words deeper, wider, stronger than that.
You say thank you when someone holds the door open for you as you walk into the grocery store. But what about when someone holds the door open for you as you walk into the next chapter of God’s calling on your life?
You say thank you when someone offers a kind word or an encouragement that puts a smile on your face. But what do you say when someone offers continual words of encouragement, support, love, and affirmation that help you begin to understand more fully who God has made you to be, how he’s gifted you, and the purpose he has for you in this life?
You say thank you when someone offers to help you with a little project or a quick errand. What do you say when someone offers dedicated, persistent, and committed prayers to our one true help, the Lord Almighty, on your behalf? Or when they promise to stand in your place and care for what you’ve left behind when your ‘errand’ is nearly a year in length?
You say thank you when someone covers your coffee so you can sit together and chat about life. But what about when they give generously, sacrificially, faithfully, abundantly, immeasurably so you can go and sit together with someone across the world and chat about life and share the good news about life in Jesus? What do you say then?
You say thank you when someone surprises you to show they’re thinking of you. What do you say when they blow away every possible expectation or hope you could have had by exemplifying the generosity of our good Father to show that Jesus is thinking of you?
You say thank you for a gift card given so you can go spend an evening doing something you love. But what about when someone helps fund a year of your life so you can go out and do the thing you feel you’ve literally been created to do?
You say thank you when someone tells you about the character of God and it encourages your heart. What do you say when someone so definitively shows you the character of God by living it out and it changes your life?
I could go on and on, and it wouldn’t be enough.
For each and every one of you who prayed for me,
encouraged me,
donated to my fundraising and to me personally for needs outside of fundraising,
offered kind words,
sacrificed your time,
gave material things I needed,
made sure I had a computer this year so I could stay connected,
made sure I had a tent so I’d have a home all year,
made sure I was not lacking in any way,
read my blogs whenever I managed to write,
commented with kind words,
thought about me this year,
sent an email or a Facebook message,
encouraged my family,
reached out to support me and my squad,
reached out to my parents as they navigated this change,
shared updates and testimonies with other people about what God was doing,
donated to support this mission for my squadmates once I was funded,
wrote letters that filled my heart with joy,
kept my prayer card on your desk or fridge to remember to lift me up to the Lord,
took interest in the people and the countries for whom God broke my heart,
prayed for our work and our ministry,
prayed for the people we encountered,
prayed for health and safety,
prayed that I would experience the Lord in a new way,
prayed that God would provide,
shared in my excitement about this new journey,
celebrated the souls saved by Jesus this year,
donated things for me to sell as a fundraiser,
lived out the meaning of church,
made sure to visit with me before I left,
sent messages or called to welcome me home,
For each and every one of you that have helped me pursue the kingdom of God in any way,
Thank you.
It’s not enough, but it is true. I am beyond grateful and humbled.
Know that what you did wasn’t just for me. It was for the Kingdom of God. For the purposes of God in the world. What you gave was not to lift me up but to lift up the name of Jesus all over this world so that people might come to know him and know his love for them.
You sent me, but I was just the messenger. What you really sent was hope. Love. Life. Grace. Mercy. Compassion. Things that are so much more real and tangible when you have an actual face in front of you telling you about them. I got to share the Good News of Jesus all over this globe because it’s a message worth sharing in person. It’s a message that deserves a face to face. And you helped me get that meeting. You made it possible for me to have those face to face talks around the world so others would know they’re worth the message and worth a messenger being sent.
Thank you.
A thousand times, thank you.
To God be the glory.
