I’ve been sending thank-you emails this week.
After such a successful event, lots of people to thank. Sadly, it’s the sort of thing I would frequently let slide without Becky’s reminders. Writing those notes got me thinking about Monday’s quote.
C. S. Lewis reminded us about the importance of small choices, how they increase at “compound interest.” Writing those notes, I was tempted to simply create some sort of form letter, change the name, make the task quick and easy.
Then I remembered what The FREEDOM TOUR is trying to accomplish, creating a community around the kids at the Home of Hope. Quick, easy form letters don’t do much to build community.
So, I tried to personalize each note and express in some way how that person has impacted us.
A thank-you note is a small thing. By itself, I don’t imagine it has a great deal of impact. But I believe Lewis was correct – small choices like this have an impact sort of like compound interest. Over time, they’re the way relationships are built and deepened. Or, if we consistently skip over them, the way relationships gradually fade.
I think about Jesus, spending three years wondering town-to-town with his disciples. I believe that was a spiritual team-building exercise. The Gospels record many big-deal incidents, but imagine the small conversations, the teachable moments that happened around tables and campfires.
These men formed tight bonds, and I don’t think it was necessarily because of the monumental stories they recorded for us. I suspect it was all those hours and seemingly insignificant conversations among themselves and with Jesus.
I wonder – when Jesus said, “Follow me,” was he partly thinking we might consistently seek out opportunities for those seemingly insignificant interactions that form the building blocks of relationships?