One of the reasons I love Paul’s letter to the Philippians? He wastes no time in getting to gratitude.
It’s right there in verse 3:
“I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.” —PHILIPPIANS 1:3-5
I’ve been thinking a lot about these verses the past few nights, as I wrote thank you note after thank you note to my supporters. It would have been so easy to complain. 60-something down, 50-something to go, my hand cramping, my coffee running low (aka: time to panic). But this wasn’t something I was being forced to do. Thanking the people who invested in me over the past nine months is something I get to do.
More than 114 people supported me in some form for the World Race.
9 of them donate monthly.
12 of them I didn’t know this time last year.
1 or more of them donated anonymously.
10 of them live outside the U.S.
7 of them I met via social media.
3 of them told me they don’t have an interest in a relationship with Jesus.
4 of them were raising support for their own ministries at the time of their donation.
And they all invested in this Kingdom journey anyways. They partnered with me by buying shirts, giving monetary gifts, posting on social media, subscribing to my blog, buying off my registry, adopting a day of Christmas, venmo-ing me out of the blue, coming on a coffee crawl, writing me letters, coming to muggle night, or committing to standing by my squad in prayer.
I get to thank God for each and every one of these people. And, like Paul, I think that’s a prayer worth making with joy. I kid you not, I did a little dance in the post office while I stamped almost 90 thank you cards today. Joy.
Tomorrow I head to Atlanta for Launch. If you’re one of the people who helped get me here, know that I am so grateful for you. Know that I am praying for you (and furiously massaging my hand in an effort for recovery).
